Saturday, June 6, 2009

Mayor Seeks Sole Authority To Negotiate Market House Leases

At Monday's city council meeting, the Mayor is set to introduce R-44-09, which would give her sole authority to negotiate short-term leases with new Market House tenants. 'Short-term' is defined in the bill as expiring on or before January 3, 2010.

My favorite part of the bill's language is this bit:
Whereas, it is necessary for the Mayor to negotiate and execute short-term
leases with new Market House tenants to ensure successful operation of the
Market House.

Funny, since it was the Mayor's negotiation of a long-term lease that ensured the failure of the Market House, uncountable lawsuits, and a taxpayer-funded bailout of the city's interest in the property.

The city has, for obvious reasons, expressed interest in getting tenants into the Market House ASAP to accommodate the current tourist season. "We should not be delaying the visibility of the businesses even in the short-term", the mayor recently quipped, arriving at an epiphany. For this reason, don't be surprised if this bill gets the fast-track treatment. A normal bill would be passed on first reader, sent to committee, given a public hearing, then voted on--normally a 3-meeting process. I predict a suspension of the rules, and a passage of this bill on Monday night. After all, the Mayor needs to act quickly to save the Market House!

3 comments:

Eye On Annapolis said...

She really needs to keep her mitts off this. Create a generic lease based on square footage used and a finite (short) term, extendable month to month.

Then have the council vote for yea or nay on the individual businesses.

Allowing the Mayor to become intricately involved again is really a bad idea!

Anonymous said...

Why would we give Mayor Moyer the sole authority to do anything in relation to the Market House. She already costs us $2.5 Million+ to get back what was ours before she made a boondoggle out of it.

I hope this resolution will be like her Saturday voting bill, and fail to get a 2nd from the Council. YES, I know that is asking a lot of this Council, especially the "Gang of 5".

jimnic said...

At this point I would rather the current Adminstration do nothing(they have already botched this one,among many) and wait for new leadership to make sound decisions. It's already has cost the taxpayers 2.5 mil + the outcome of the trial that opens today with the other vendors. Wonder if Galway Bay will get their licensed knocked back (aka Buddy's) to 12am, since they are a Plaintiff in the trial that is underway today?
Jim Conley