Councilmember Bortz on The Banks

The commitment of the new leadership at the County and the current City Council to cooperate in completing The Banks development is unprecedented. We have successfully come together to remove roadblocks, stop the blame game, and build a good working relationship.

Given that there is an election right around the corner, no one wants to see The Banks get started more than City Council. The pace of progress is frustrating for everyone: the Banks Working Group members, elected officials, the media, and the citizens who have been waiting for over a decade. However, the latest debate over height restrictions, whether intentional or not, only serves to distract from the real reason that the deal has taken this long – money.

Let’s not forget that taxpayers are footing this bill. Failure to ask critical questions when we are presented with a development agreement is at best incompetent and at worst negligent.

Does the public know what they are getting and how much they are paying for it? How much risk is the city taking financially? If we are giving the developer a blank check, then who is providing the oversight to ensure we don’t have a project that is $350 M over budget. Do we get the land back if they fail to complete the first phase?

It would be a failure to fumble the ball this close to the finish line. We must be diligent to avoid making an expensive mistake. But we also have to be realistic. The developer must be granted flexibility. That doesn’t mean we disregard the original vision and the years of public input, however we can not be rigid in an unattainable pursuit of perfection.

Most importantly, we must not surrender our duty as public servants to ask difficult, even unpopular questions in a public setting. It is our responsibility to look to the future and understand what our riverfront will look like 20 years from now, without being swayed by political pressure. The current group of elected officials inherited a mess on The Banks. We should be proud of the progress made to untangle it and get moving towards a workable solution.

Under the strong leadership of Bob Castellini, the Banks Working Group members have demonstrated dedication to closing the deal with the developer in the face of enormous challenges. We are all waiting in excited anticipation, and with a healthy degree of cautious optimism, for a master development agreement so that we can act and get The Banks done.