Is anybody in St. Petersburg worried about Mayor Rick Baker's plan to turn over control of the Mahaffey Theater and part of the city's waterfront to his rich but somewhat mysterious buddy?
There is silence everywhere in the town. If anybody in the institutional leadership in St. Petersburg is worried, he or she ain't sayin'. Nobody wants to upset the apple cart.
Maybe some supporters of the Dali Museum are privately worried about becoming neighbor to 20,000 concertgoers and port-a-potties at the proposed new waterfront concert arena, but we haven't heard about it.
Maybe the City Council is thinking, jeez, do we have to swallow everything this mayor cooks up? But with a couple of exceptions here and there, the council has not exactly been a hotbed of checks and balances.
"It appears to me we are doing an end run around the process," says one of the exceptions, City Council member James Bennett. "I certainly would want a forum to hear from the people I represent."
Oh, right. The people.
Maybe, too, there are rank-and-file citizens or members of the Council of Neighborhood Associations who have questions about the idea, but they don't have a place at the table. No hearing. No input.
The thing was scheduled to be rammed through the City Council on Nov. 4, while everybody was still distracted by the election, although that has been delayed.
What about the fact this deal might be a de facto lease of waterfront property without a referendum, in violation of the City Charter? Can City Hall simply evade the charter any time it chooses by calling such deals a "management contract" instead of a lease?
And what about the man of the hour, to whom the mayor wants to give unprecedented control of St. Petersburg's public assets? Bill Edwards, a mortgage broker turned recording-studio owner, refuses to talk at all.
Our reporter last week tried repeatedly to interview Edwards about his background and his plans for managing the Mahaffey and the public waterfront park that the taxpayers would build for him across the street.
Edwards repeatedly refused through an assistant, who explained her boss didn't really want to be public. She e-mailed:
As a result of inaccuracies contained in the questions you sent over, we are going to pass on responding for your story. Please keep this in mind as you write your piece as it would not serve anyone's purpose to send an inaccurate portrayal or incorrect information to the public.
"Inaccuracies," my foot. The guy got rich in the mortgage business, he backed the developers' side in a Treasure Island citizen revolt, and his principal claim to credibility in the entertainment game is that he represents artist Rick Derringer, who, no doubt, would be one of the waterfront headliners.
Rock and roll hoochie koo.
The gentleman has done more than his part for charity, and he has supported the Mahaffey. But he is seeking control of St. Petersburg's waterfront for concerts, and he is asking for the taxpayers to keep paying the Mahaffey operating subsidy for five years, while he has complete control of the facility. (Not to mention that the taxpayers would chip in another $9-million for renovations.)
So this is not a "private" deal.
It is the public's business. Entirely.
The main reason no one is questioning the mayor's deal is that nobody wants to be blamed for costing the city $8-million, which is what Edwards proposes to fork over as his up-front ante for taking over. He also would chip in a $2.35-million loan to the city, which might be forgiven later.
Lovers of Mahaffey are naturally swayed by that kind of cash - it certainly would be better than just letting that beautiful building go to heck and eventually get torn down. The question is whether Edwards' control also would be better than borrowing money, or diverting money from other important city needs.
Here is friendly advice to the mayor: This isn't brain surgery. Make the deal totally transparent. Publish the contract well in advance for public review. Include guarantees that protect the taxpayers. Hold public hearings and let the people ask questions.
