Capital Projects

By Lisa C. Fernandez

Complete Capital Projects on time and on budget.

Getting capital projects completed has always been a problem at the District. Each year many projects are included in the budget but never started, let alone completed. It has been five years since the Oyster Point Hilton Hotel lease was signed and still no hotel is on the horizon. The original Lease, which was agreed to and signed by all parties, called for a fee of 5 % of the room rents to be paid to the Harbor District. In response to a "memo" sent to district headquarters, the General Manager, recommended to the Commission that they lower the percentage from 5% to 3%. This change, which came in the form of a "minor" amendment to the Ground Lease was approved without discussion by the Harbor Commission. The end result was that the Commission unwittingly gave away millions of dollars in potential revenue to the District. It has remained unclear why the Chief Administrator Officer of the Harbor District apparently acted in the best interests of the Developers and not the Public Agency that hired him. To say that was a bad decision is a gross understatement.

If elected, I would sit down with the builders and see what it would take to get this project moving and see what the District received in return for lowering the revenue figure. If this project is not going to proceed, then we need to seek out other Developers who would be interested in building at Oyster Point. This could include a few smaller hotels, a movie theater, a restaurant and some small shops. Either way, Oyster Point presents wonderful opportunities for development.

Now, onto the bathroom controversy. The tenants at Pillar Point have been promised new restrooms for over ten years. What has been proposed by Management, and is being pushed by certain Commissioners, is a bathroom located much further from the existing facility. The proposal calls for a second story to be built and leased out. Can you imagine high-end tenants paying top dollar to locate their businesses directly above the noise and stench of a Public toilet? The price-tag for this Restroom/Commercial building is $1.2 million.

If elected, I would keep the restroom where it is, double the size of the existing building and remodel it. This would save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You would expect the building to be the Mother of All Bathrooms, however this is not quite the case. Feel free to stop by the Pillar Point facility and ask to see the plans. Then remove the big trees and grass from the drawing, as there are none at the proposed site. In my opinion, this style could best be described as "Post-Modern State Pen." But think of all the extra exercise the live-aboards will get slogging through the rain to take a shower or use the restroom.

The budget for the fiscal year 2001-2002 (which we just finished) included capital projects which were not completed as follows: Boat Yard, Signs, Federal Channel to Romeo Pier, Johnson Pier Repairs, Restroom Renovation, Seal and Stripe Parking Lots, and the 71-Berth Project. There were two significant projects completed...the Fender Piles at Johnson Pier at a cost of over 3 times the budgeted amount and the West-End Dock Repair, which only went twice over the budget amount. This is only for the Pillar Point facility.

At Oyster Point Marina, the budget for the same period called for approximately $780,000 in capital projects, however only a little over $120,000 was actually spent.

If elected, I would ask the employees and tenants what improvements are in most need of repair. Safety would be the first priority for replacement. After our list is compiled, we would do the research to get accurate bids before it would go into the budget. Once something is in the budget, it should be completed. This has certainly not been the case so far.

I have the experience of having worked at the Harbor District, and Ken Lundie owns two commercial fishing boats at the Harbor and has served on the Board for four years now. As an employee, we knew if we went to him or Commissioner Campbell with problems or concerns, that they would work tirelessly to help us.

Please vote for Lisa Fernandez and Ken Lundie on November 5th. We promise you a bathroom on time, on budget and one you can be proud of.