"Approve Lake Worth leases" - PB Post Opinion

Click the above title for link to opinion piece on the Lake Worth ballot questions. While I agree with the PB Post's opinion on question #1 - the Snook Islands lease to the county for 99 years, I am less supportive of voting for the 99 year lease related to "For the Children."

Why? The first question would allow a 99 year lease to the county for the recently created Snook Islands natural area. This area is about to be improved with a series of boardwalks, day docks and fishing facilities that will allow the residents of Lake Worth and the county in general to better enjoy and access the Lake Worth lagoon over the long term. A 99 year lease protects the public resource in ways zoning and land use designations cannot. It also allows leverage for grants and other funding sources that see a 99 year lease as long term security for an environmental resource like this one.

Regarding the second question, while the efforts of "For the Children" are admirable and needed, especially in this area of the city, I am concerned how the PB Post and others' eyes gloss over the phrase "non-profit organization" They seem to be all to quick think that anything a "non-profit" does is automatically good or in the public interest. We have already seen many blurred lines between another non-profit - the Lake Worth Community Development Corporation and the city. Now we have have another one in our midst that will be benefiting from the value of public property in order to leverage future fund raising opportunities. In my mind, this is how this should be presented. I personally have not seen anything from the organization about what this will enable them to do that they cannot do now and how this will reduce the need for the city dollars to support their operations in the future. And, will they even be around in 99 years?

Let's be a little more critical of "non-profits" and not immediately assume that they share a public purpose in common with that of the city as a whole.