The recent process the City Council and the Mayor’s Office went through to decide on the proposed lease with Inspired Communities of Florida for a city-owned property in the Vince Whibbs Sr. Community Maritime Park is a good example of how government works.
This is not to say that the government simply works when a lease is approved. By “government works” I mean that a careful review is conducted so that a decision is based on facts. Although the vote in this case was unanimous, I am confident that if the majority of votes had been in favor of proceeding, all of the City Council members who would have voted against proceeding would still have worked hard to make the project a success.
My book, Building a Vibrant Community, shows that the best elected officials, when they don’t get what they want, are still willing to support the majority for the good of the community. This is called consent rather than consensus. While consensus is good, there are times when consensus can lead to a decision that may seem positive in the short term, but the outcome is not.
Maritime Park Project: The Hard Rock Reverb hotel and apartment project in Maritime Park receives unanimous approval
For example, during the Maritime Park process, due to the votes against the project, it was suggested that the stadium be moved to another part of the city. However, city officials knew that location was particularly important in determining what makes a successful stadium, so the decision was made to keep it where it stands today.
Back to the Parcel 5 lease, the active due diligence of City Council members and Mayor DC Reeves resulted in a much better understanding of the project and a better lease agreement than originally envisioned. Too often people rush into a decision without knowing the facts. This is called contempt before investigation. In this case, City Council members did their job. They made many phone calls, studied the lease and the company, and met with other experts to learn from them.
To the mayor’s credit, he and his team have come to terms with the agreement, which will result in a much better financial situation for taxpayers. Also important are the safeguards included in the lease, which means that if the project does not move forward on time, the city will keep the land and can move forward in a different direction.
To Inspire Florida’s credit, they stayed at the negotiating table and worked out an agreement that was satisfactory to the City Council and the Mayor. At no point were there any personal attacks. Everyone kept their morals.
The above is an example of why the Center for Civic Engagement was founded six years ago. The CivicCon educational series brings experts to the area to share best practices. The City Council and Mayor demonstrated what civic conversation looks like. Thank you to the City Council and Mayor for demonstrating what right looks like.
