Say no to swap of North PAC dollars for Aquarium bonds

By Dan Pressburg

On July 22, 2010 North PAC [political action committee] voted to give the PoLB [Port of Long Beach] almost six million dollars for infrastructure in the Middle Harbor Project. Mine was the only “no” vote against this transfer. This is the second time for this request. In turn, the PoLB will supplement the City budget.
The City can then pay for the Aquarium bonds and Pier S. The Middle Harbor project is estimated to generate approximately 15 million dollars over time, but there is no guarantee of return on PAC dollars.
This is essentially a revisit of the Museum Bond issue, except with a twist in that RDA dollars/North PAC, the PoLB and City are involved. 
The City owns the Aquarium building and land, and therefore must pay its bond debt. There is a budget deficit so the taxpayer again is left holding the bag again. The 3.5 million [dollars] in rent the Aquarium pays to the City doesn’t cover the debt but goes to the general fund. Last year this transfer was going to be a onetime deal. It is amazing how these onetime deals are used to back-fill the budget and have a life of multiple years with up to six million dollars vanishing annually from the North Project Area budget.   
This damages the North Project Area and its ability to maximize dollars for quality sustainable community projects. It also means North will be forced to substitute projects with strip malls of a lesser quality, regardless of what the North PAC strategic plan says. Finally, it means a lot of prayer for a nickel of return that North may never see.
I do not know the exact dollars the North PAC may have received from its citywide asset, “The Port” in Area 5, but I would say it is less than the actual housing dollars that were created by the taxpayer and the tax increment we’re bonded against and are continuing to spend for the Aquarium Bond. 
This action is speculation at best because we are giving up North PAC dollars now that could be used in redefining North Long Beach and creating a new identity on the corridor with neighborhood-serving businesses and, ideally, a library. It also appears to be another city Ponzi scheme that has the promise for the North with no guarantee in the Middle Harbor to support its leases, back-fills the budget and rewards the city for overspending taxpayer dollars in bond proceeds. 
It does raise questions to the veracity of the actions as prescribed in the concept of blight removal in the North Project Area. Preserving Area 1 only allows the tapping of the other nine areas in North PAC for more dollars in the future while claiming to protect Area 1. Please remember, not a single lease or tenant has lined up or is ready to come to the PoLB and occupy the Middle Harbor Project. This is a build-it-and-they-will-come “Field of Dreams.”
I am asking that the RDA Board reconsider this action. The cumulative effect on North has the potential of destroying future projects even if it does not seem “that damaging,” as some people believe. 
North PAC is attempting to fulfill its advisory role by removing blight as well as create a sustainable community. Paying for infrastructure in the Port does nothing for blight removal or the quality of life in the Atlantic Village and surrounding area. It does not create a main street atmosphere that translates to a quality project in our community or neighborhoods. Robbing the North PAC now and then having the Port pay the Aquarium bonds is not defined as blight removal, but simply a bailout at best. Enough is enough!just say no!