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Long Beach Chamber Opposes Funding Breakwater Study by Ryan ZumMallen | Archive | 06.16.10 |
+  Photo by Daniel DeBoom10:45am | The City Council will hear a ruling from the Army Corps of Engineers next week on whether or not there is Federal interest in reconfiguring the Long Beach Breakwater to possibly improve water quality and bring back waves to the shoreline. But that hasn't stopped some from opposing the plan before it is even presented. A letter from Long Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO Randy Gordon was sent to City management and other officials today, opposing $4 million in funding for a federal breakwater study that would be required from the City if the Army Corps announces next week that it approves of progressing with the project. To be clear, a positive announcement from the Army Corps next week does not mean that the project is a go. It means that there is Federal interest in the possibility of the project, and that an $8 million study - the City is responsible for half - would be recommended to determine the best course of action (if any). The study would take likely three to four years to complete. The letter stops short of outright opposition to breakwater reconfiguration, which could cost in the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Instead, it asks that the City Council walk away from Federal interest and deny funding to a study that would determine whether or not reconfiguration is feasible or cost-effective. "The Chamber firmly believes this is the wrong time to make such a massive investment in the proposed study," reads Gordon's letter. "The City of Long Beach’s current fiscal crisis does not warrant spending up to $4 million for a study." To reiterate: the letter does not oppose reconfiguration. It opposes finding out whether reconfiguration will improve the quality of Long Beach's shoreline, currently one of the most polluted in all of California. After years of independent studies and growing public support, the City has attracted the interest of the Federal government and the possibility of improved water quality and millions of tourism dollars. No thanks, says the Long Beach Chamber. Gordon sent the letter to Mayor Bob Foster, City Manager Pat West, members of the Long Beach City Council and officials from the Port of Long Beach. The City Council has been waiting for nearly one year to hear word from the Army Corps of Engineers, who hold authority over whether or not to reconfigure the breakwater. A representative from the Army Corps of Engineers said a few weeks ago that the local office has recommended moving forward with a study, making it more likely that the official ruling will be approval. "During these challenging economic times, we need to remain focused on retaining and creating jobs. We also need to focus on closing a massive budget deficit and bringing fiscal responsibility back to City Hall. Moving forward with this study under these circumstances is the wrong idea at the wrong time. " One of Gordon's main issues seems to be that the Port of Long Beach would pay for the study. While City Councilmember Patrick O'Donnell recently hinted, not so subtly, that the Port would probably contribute to the cost, the cost responsibility belongs with the City. "Furthermore, it is NOT the responsibility of the Port of Long Beach to fund the study on behalf of the City. Our concern is that the Port is unfairly being expected to fund a City mandate and while the results of the study are uncertain, the financial impact to the Port, and the City itself, is not. " No word on how the Chamber feels about the Port-funded Tidelands account paying $9.5 million to fix the canal seawalls of upscale Naples Island, as approved unanimously last night by the City Council. The letter is provided in full, below: Funding of Federal Breakwater Impact Study – OPPOSE Disclosure: LBPOST.com publisher Shaun Lumachi is a government affairs advisor to the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Follow the LBPOST.com on our Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages.
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24 Comments so far.
RJF So when is the right time to fund the study? My guess is that Mr. Gordon's response to that question is "never". WOW As a conservative and pro -business constituent I am disappointed with the chamber. The chamber clearly doesn't care about LB residents if this is their position. And by the way, the expansion of Pier J stopped the wave activity. So yes, the Port absolutely should pay for this project. The chamber just lost some credibility from many of it's supporters I feel. SuspiciousOfRandy No wonder Long Beach has not lived up to it's potential of attracting more top notch employers to the city with this kind of myopic leadership from the Chamber of Commerce (which is not a government entity by the way). Hey Randy, should all companies and cities not spend any money on researching improvements right now? Look past your nose and look at the LONG TERM. If an organization has the ability spend money to increase revenues and improve its product why should it turn down that opportunity? Who is Randy Gordon anyways, what is his tract record, what has he accomplished? He is either incredibly short-sited or has ulterior motives. What is his connection to the port paying for this? I am very very suspicious of his motives. LBVoter Dear City Council, Randy Gordon is one man, remember who actually votes for you. I will vote against any Council Member that opposes this and I don't think I am the only one. The voters our watching. M So, if you have to "reiterate" so many times that the chamber doesn't oppose it directly, then why does your headline say that the chamber opposes it?? Oh come on The CoC didn't say "... opposes finding out whether reconfiguration will improve the quality of Long Beach's shoreline", all it says it opposes spending city funds. If the people who want this they could from a foundation and fund it themselves. But considering the current budget problem I sort of see CoC point (at least for this time). I think there are much better uses for $4M than a breakwater study. Ryan ZumMallen, Editor Hello M. The intention was to distinguish between the Chamber opposing reconfiguration (which the letter states is not the case) and opposing funding $4 million for the study, as stated in the headline and article. Sorry for any confusion. Bob Randy is overdue to be replaced. Someone who is interested in a pro-business Long Beach and creating jobs sure is showing their stupid side in this letter. Our beaches are 4 miles of the most underutilized asset we have. Desolate, barren beaches mean no economic impact Randy....do you get it? A revitalized beach means more jobs, more revenue, more assets for people to enjoy. If there is an Econ 101 at CSULB maybe we can let Mr. Gordon sit in for a semester. Resident Who is the chamber of commerce? Probably a bunch of business owners that made campaign contributions this last election cycle and will be making contributions in the next campaign cycle so we may be able to see who received money from them after the city council votes, I’m just saying! On the other hand, why don’t all the cities that contribute to the pollution in the harbor by way of the Long Beach River helping out with the cost. AnotherLBResident Improving our beaches will have a dramatically positive financial impact on the city and our businesses, well beyond the $4 million investment. The beach is our single greatest asset, and it has been totally mismanaged. STOP SPENDING The city doesn't have any money for unnecessary expenses. This is not currently a necessary expense. Info Please What is the breakdown of the projected 8M expenditures? Why is it so high? I am suspicious of the number. Justin Mr. Gordon should stop living in the world Mayberry RFD and live in this century. Good Gracious. Out with Randy The nice thing about the Chamber is that their opinion JUST DOESN'T MATTER! Moving on people. Lori Sounds like Randy is part of the Good Ol Boy politics of Long Beach. That's why nothing happened to restore our beach until we got new blood in City Hall. Maybe it's time to get some new blood in the Chamber of Commerce! MD I feel like the CoC's interest in dodging the study has nothing to do with cutting city spending. While i'm sure the CoC would like us to believe that it's a cheerful consortium of mom 'n' pop grocers, the letter makes them sound like all they care about is how much the port will pay. In other words, they care far more about their bottom line they'll ever care about Long Beach. I bet if the city decided to make this entirely a taxpayer obligation, the chamber's concerns would dissolve into the air like so many other things coming out of the port. Belmont Bob Be thankful we have a Chamber of Commerce that has some logic. Go Randy, I could not agree with you more. Long Beach just dosen't have the money for a study! Bixby Knolls Resident Let's think about this for a minute...$8M for a study that may or may not suggest reconfiguration of the breakwater; Huh? How much money realistically should a "study" cost? Besides time spent on the project...what are the expenses? Paper, a couple of computers, maybe a few ink cartridges and a whole lot of survey work (but that's just time again). So, calculating that out, that's 106 people working for a full year at $75,000 a year. Really? We need over 100 people for this study? Maybe a group of 20 at most is required...so that would be over 5 years before the "study" is complete. What am I missing here? Study's have been done on the breakwater concerning its environmental and economic impact...what was wrong with those study's? Could there really be something so revolutionary those study's left out that could change EVERYTHING? I don't think so. Give a couple of PHD's from CSULB each a $100k to do the study and you'll have the same answer this $8M would be spent on. Just Ask "No word on how the Chamber feels about the Port funded Tidelands account paying $9.5 million to fix the Canal seawalls of upscale Naples........" And why can't the eLBPost ask Mr Gordon instead of just wondering? Joseph E The name of the city is "Long Beach." The beach and harbor our the city's biggest assests, and spending a measly 4 million to leverage federal and port funds to fix the beach, is a great investment in the city. It would be great if the federal government or the port of Long Beach would pay the whole cost, but certainly this money is well spent. Reconfiguring the breakwater and bringing clean waves back to Long Beach will transform tourism and improve business in our town. That's something the Chamber of Commerce should support. CHARLIE While I personally do not agree with The Chamber's position on the Army Corps Breakwater's Study, and I won't bore with all my reasonings, but I do feel the majority of you commenting are being completely unfair to Randy Gordon as he does have several bosses called - Board of Director's... Is Randy LB? And can someone tell us if Randy actually lives in Long Beach? MD I think the argument that the city "doesn't have any money" and thus shouldn't go ahead with the study is flawed. First, the city is not the same as the city residents, and hardships that the residents endure financially aren't transferred to the city. Separately, it's an overreach to say that the study's cost will be borne by the taxpayers in the form of increased taxes. While some of these comments don't seem to understand that, Randy Gordon obviously does. His letter is basically an acknowledgement that this breakwater study is probably going to convince the city (otherwise why would he care?). And his only concern (the only concern he has that makes sense) with that study being carried out is that the Port (which carries a lot of water in the CoC) might have to pay for part of it. Here's how I see it: The Port realizes that the city probably doesn't want the breakwater and will probably make them pay for part of the study. The Port also knows that if they wrote a letter saying they shouldn't pay for it, they'd sound biased. Because they are. So, they call up the Chamber, which seems like a totally reputable, not-ruled-by-greed organization, and tell them to get out some stationery. But then, it's not enough to just say "we don't think we should pay." because that just wreaks of self-interest. So they do the political thing, and veil their self-interest in some sort of bigger moral point: The city shouldn't do the study, because it's fiscally irresponsible. Nevermind that the actual fiscal details are still entirely up in the air. And then you get people defending them because they're for fiscal responsibility. Wait for the details, fellow Beachers. Then we can all decide whether or not the city should pursue this. Ashley So glad to know the Chamber of Commerce is so in touch with those it's supposed to be supporting. I would like to know what Mr. Gordon is so proud of and claiming to be a "rich asset"--the dirty water and beach Long Beach currently has, or the lack of marine life?
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Ryan ZumMallen has served as the managing editor of the LBPOST.com since 2007. He graduated from CSULB with a degree in Print Journalism in 2008 and is a member of the 2009 class of Leadership Long Beach. You can find him on various basketball courts around the city.
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