Is the National Swim Center Deal Dead in the Water?

Submitted by John Kelley on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 17:10
in

Council still dodges park issue.
The City Council and the National Swim Center Corporation seemed to be going through the motions of patting each other on the back and working towards a deal, even though confidential sources from City staff say the deal is dead. Ignoring the lack of resolution on whether the area is a park or not, Council has plunged ahead with more negotiations. Even if those negotiations could bring an agreement, the City probably couldn’t legally execute their end without a protracted (years long) legal fight with community groups who have vowed to oppose any attempt to place development on what they consider a public park.

It’s Time to Compromise and Move On

Submitted by John Kelley on Fri, 12/11/2009 - 17:08
in

We have bigger issues than the Coliseum.
The current Council has jumped into the middle of a Coliseum quagmire that is sapping energy from them, City staff and citizens when we have HUGE fiscal problems that must be solved. A sales tax short fall of six percent or more, a 75% drop in development and other fees that fund services, lower utility usage and a coming tsunami of decline in property tax revenues has the potential to plunge the city into a giant fiscal black hole that could hold us back for years to come. One realtor suggested that a possible 20% drop in valuations or more may be coming, a devastating fiscal blow to City, School and County revenues.
Council Staggers along on Coliseum with Conflicting AgendasSubmitted by John Kelley on Wed, 11/18/2009 - 10:51In Memorial Coliseum

Restored Adame rebuffed
Even with Mayor Joe Adame back at the helm, Council was unable to bring to the Coliseum issue to a promised conclusion. Over three hours of public comment and chaotic Council discussion resulted in a tear it down, maybe not resolution.
grow corpus.JPGPolitics Gone AwrySubmitted by John Kelley on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 18:17In City

Leal Stumbles, Grow Corpus Shrivels

Priscilla Leal, District 3 Councilperson decided to get tough on staff today and in the process may have inadvertently demonstrated her own ignorance.
Leal & Chesney to push Brass ReconsiderationWill Leal Have the Brass to put Brass on the Agenda?Submitted by John Kelley on Thu, 11/05/2009 - 16:29In Memorial Coliseum

Chesney and Leal push for Community Fight.
Grow Corpus Christi organizer Diane Metz announced on her Grow CC facebook page that Priscilla Leal has agreed to place the Brass deal back on Tuesday's City Council Agenda. Whether she can actually do that is another question.
53 parks map harland bartholmew001.jpgLong History as Park Land Will Likely Require Public VoteSubmitted by John Kelley on Fri, 10/09/2009 - 12:59In Memorial Coliseum

In 1941 the Bayfront Seawall was created to protect downtown. In addition, the L-head and T-heads were constructed creating the municipal marina. Shoreline boulevard was constructed on top of the fill material behind the seawall. High-rise hotels and office towers were subsequently constructed on this man-made fill.” (A History of Development in Corpus Christi) As soon as the parkway called Shoreline Drive was constructed on this fill, planning to create a bayfront park along that drive began and have advanced ever so slowly in the same direction for over fifty years. That is until City Council decided to deviate from this plan. (to see historical park plan pics see Coliseum Gallery)
Figure 10 from the Bayfront Master Plan - South Bayfront Memorial ParkColiseum Story Starts New Chapter of ContentionSubmitted by John Kelley on Wed, 09/30/2009 - 11:51In Memorial Coliseum

City declared area a park in 1987, requiring a public vote for development.

Contrary to the legal opinion of John Bell, who was hired by the City for the Coliseum-Brass Realty Fund deal, (see John Bell Responds to WtP Articles on the WtP homepage), WtP has uncovered City documents that clearly define the Coliseum and area being negotiated for major development as a park. That would require a public vote for a long term lease or sale of the proposed development land. In the meantime, discussions with Brass Realty have been kept under tight wraps, with one City Hall insider saying that even without the park issue the outlook for achieving a contract is poor.
The Loser City: Corpus Christi’s Self Imposed Bad RapBayfront Master Plan for Coliseum AreaSubmitted by John Kelley on Mon, 11/16/2009 - 13:31In Memorial Coliseum

Editorial
A whole Council elected on a “Pro Growth” platform is now on the horns of their own dilemma.
Brass Proponents have Press ConferenceDiane LaMorte Metz, Leader of Grow CorpusSubmitted by John Kelley on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 15:55In Memorial Coliseum

Self appointed spokesperson for Grow Corpus, Diane LaMorte Metz held a news conference where she and 29 other supporters expressed their support for the Brass Real Estate deal killed by the Council last week. While she refused several requests for an interview before WtP had to leave, City Councilman and Ice Rayz part owner Brent Chesney was there cheering the effort, wearing a green growcorpus t-shirt and commented that he still supports the deal.
Brass’s Brass Kills Coliseum DealSubmitted by John Kelley on Thu, 10/29/2009 - 18:40In Memorial Coliseum

Mayor seeking to jump back in the deal.

New members to the Council who pledged quick and easy answers for the Coliseum just ran into the brick wall of reality. The Council decision to kill the deal threw all of the officeholders into the buzz saw of public opinion that varied from kudos to threats of political extermination. The question is what is the real story about why the Brass deal failed?
(Correction in article below, The City maintained architectual control over the development in what was agreed upon, not Brass as was originally stated.)
John Bell Responds to WtP articles.Submitted by Readers Write on Tue, 09/29/2009 - 10:15In Memorial Coliseum

From: John D. Bell
To: John Kelley (email addresses removed)
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 3:27:03 PM
Subject: Coliseum Project

John (Kelley),

I read your article posted about the Coliseum and have heard about your comments to Council and others. The City Legal Dept amd I do not have any disagreements in our legal analysis concerning these issues. Whatever "official" told you I was hired because they wanted different answers is woefully mistaken.

I was
New Factors Cloud Coliseum Deal with BrassSubmitted by John Kelley on Wed, 09/16/2009 - 10:32In Memorial Coliseum

Additional facts have surfaced relating to the Brass deal that may complicate the City's efforts to move forward with a contract.

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