Click here for live link to City Commission Workshop on budget (7/27)

It sounds like the Commission wants wide latitude when choosing tenants for the NEW casino building when finished.  Franchises frowned upon...McVoy:  We have to remember that this is a public park.  We need to have more diversity in tenants. Mayor Waterman says she can't afford Kilwin's ice cream.  She thinks that the northern tenant (restaurant) should be the same for both floors, but serve different items.  Commissioner Golden doesn't like the bar at the west end of the pier. They are also talking about Benny's lease.  Waterman says the outside of Benny's is not "family friendly" and doesn't like the bar there either.  It sounds like they want to open up the lease and put many more restrictions on it, including who is going to run the pier.  Golden says that the city should control customer service the public receives at the pier - like the city is an expert in customer service??   Sounds like Benny's doesn't give contributions to the right candidates.

They have decided to provide a "black box" (through the Morganti contract for $6 million)  but the standard is a "vanilla box" to the tenants  The city may happen to contribute costs toward the additional build-out for smaller tenants.  Sounds like an incubator to me...talk of free rent, pay for tenant build out and get paid back over time.  The City Manager says it's too early to talk about now.

Mulvehill wants to look for a grant to improve the outside of Benny's - what kind of grant would that be?  The City Manager is talking about a lease "dispute" with Benny's - lawsuit #160?  She talks about a "friendly re-negotiation" - I couldn't type that with a straight face.  It has to due with the extension of their lease after the repairs - nothing was signed according to the City Attorney.  They want to put the screws to Benny's, sounds to me - apparently they don't play the game.  City Manager says it's been the city's position that they don't have a lease.  Please God!

The Mayor said that was the 15 minute part of the meeting - it started at at 6 p.m. and now it is 15 minutes to 8 o'clock.  Now they are getting to the General Fund - tune in at 5 a.m. for the conclusion of this portion of the meeting.

I stepped away for a bit.  They are talking about the library now.  "A great year despite the layoffs"