Commentary By Roger Gitlin – EYE ON DEL NORTE – June 22,2022
I have not attended any recent Harbor Commission meetings but I did observe this last one, June 21 meeting. I wish I hadn’t attended.
On the Agenda, three discussion items were prominent.
3a… Discuss and vote to approve Resolution 22-10 to commit to fund a share of the Tri-Agency Economic Development Authority debt to the United States Dept of Agriculture. This Authority is moribund, alive in name only, a Joint Powers Authority of the City, County and Harbor. The Agency has been woefully unsuccessful and managing to incur approximately $290,000 debt. The Tri-Agency is unable to pay back this debt which now falls on the back of the Public. There was discussion about repaying the debt back with each member paying 1/3 portion. Another discussion was the Harbor to pay back as little as 8 percent of the bad debt. Without clarification as to who benefited from the process, the Commission voted unanimously to show “good faith” and repay the USDA $5,000 per year for the next five years. There was zero discussion on how Tri-Agency found itself in this quagmire.
Folks, this is YOUR money and because of what I could identify as Tri-Agency malfeasance, you public end up holding the bag.
The item should have been tabled before disbursing dollar one.
4a… Dredge Report.
It’s been 15 months since EYE ON DEL NORTE brought this priority matter of dredging the inner Harbor near tenant Fashion Blacksmith with when this small local area could be properly dredged and allow access to the FASHION pier. This abject failure has severely damaged the ability for FASHION to repair larger vessels.
Harbormaster Tim Petrick repeated the same drivel with no clear path to dredging this variable. The Commission and Mr. Petrick have failed to move the needle. The Harbor is no closer to dredging the FASHION Blacksmith area than it was almost a year and a half ago. Whose fault? Who cares?
Fingerpointing is unhelpful. Bottom line no results.
9d…in a unanimous 5-0, the Harbor Commission approved a $9,900 bonus compensation payment to Harbormaster Tim Petrick.
Appalling!
For merely doing his job, the Harbormaster receives a huge bonus.
Folks, we’re not rewarded for E F F O R T, however tepid in this matter. One is rewarded for
R E S U L T S. And the results are not there.
Irresponsible Commission decision.
What were the businesses who defaulted on their Tri-Agency loans, and how much did each of them owe?
I am still getting information from the state on that. What I have received from the state controllers office is Tri-Agency has been out of compliance since 2018. Which demonstrates the accuracy of when it was dissolved April 9, 2018 according to their own records, the state controller records and the United States Department of Commerce records. The USDA is currently working on my CPRA REQUEST which will disclose all parties who are responsible for this debt. Once this debt is paid The JPA needs to end I permanently. The reason why it should end is because it gas never been properly run and I don’t think the taxpayers should be responsible for these gifted opportunist receiving thousands of dollars.