Some at City Hall want to rent a spit of land known as Northpoint to a developer to build a hotel and restaurant. The location of the property is just on the north side of the old Roosevelt Bridge between Dixie Highway, the FEC track and rail road bridge. But before I venture my opinion on this project, I want to visit three different years in 20th century America. As you will see, the past is important to understanding my position on this project in the present but especially for the future.
The first year I want to examine is 1971. I began college that year. The apartment I rented was the first floor of a two family house in Queens, NY. My rent was $75 a month plus utilities. I had a full time job that paid $130 per week in a New York City hotel. The subway fare was 30 cents. The White Castle around the corner from my apartment charged 12 cents per slider. I ate there several times a week.
Now, it is 1953, the year of my birth. My mother told me the rent was $32.00 per month for our NYC apartment. The subway had just been raised from a dime to 15 cents. It was President Eisenhower’s first year in office, the Korean War ended and the minimum wage was 75 cents. Also 50% of American homes had a TV.
Lastly, let’s look at 1932 which is 83 years ago. The country was in the midst of the Great Depression. The U.S. GNP fell more that 13% and unemployment was 23.6%. Herbert Hoover was in the White House. You couldn’t buy a legal drink because Prohibition was still the law of the land. The New York City Subway was a nickel.
Do you think anyone in 1932 America could predict what our country would look like in 2015? In 1932 Stuart was 18 years old and Martin County was 7. There was radio, and talking pictures had been around for five years. Television, the internet and cellular phones were unknown. Hitler had yet to come to power in Germany. World War I was still referred to as the Great War. In 1932, forget about predicting what the world would look like in 2015, Americans couldn’t even see the world of 1943 and the inferno to come.
Understanding the above, if Stuart was negotiating a lease for Northpoint in 1932, what would the terms be? I would suspect vastly different than what they would be in 2015. But today Stuart is negotiating a lease for Northpoint that will run 83 years until 2098. Lease terms written for the Stuart of 2015 that will bind our children, grandchildren and in some cases great grandchildren. Will the terms and concept of this lease be relevant at the dawn of the 22nd century?
We are obligating the city of tomorrow with our actions today. We may have a legal right to do so, but we do not possess the moral right. There is just no possible way that this is good government. This action is done with a great deal of hubris and paternalism. I have other serious doubts and questions about this project. Even if I had no others, I could not in good conscience vote for this lease; which will bind the hands of future generations of Stuartians long after I and the present commission are gone.