Gary Kreisler: Telling It Like It Is

This Point of View below appeared in the Post today and illustrates perfectly the choices the City of Lake Worth may be faced with going forward. It's generally agreed the City took possession of a substandard Casino building at the BEACH!. It was a lack of oversight and poor planning by a previous city commission that's put us in this terrible predicament. The problem is not going to go away on it's own.

The BEACH! is losing money to the tune of at least $600,000 each year, minimum. Much of the standard maintenance is being deferred and has been since the structure first opened. The facility can't be propped up much longer. Do I really need to post again the pictures of rusting elevators, flooded floors, delaminated windows, and water cascading off the roof onto tourists? Remember, by construction standards this is considered a new building.

This is where public-private partnerships come into play. It's the innovation in the private sector that may provide a solution here. Below are two excerpts from Gary Kreisler who is the chairman of Florida Business Watch:

     Currently, municipal and county governments are engaged with private companies in new creative ventures, especially here in the Sunshine State. With the passing of new “public-private legislation” — and an increased volume of support now provided by local businesses — city and county public-works departments are expanding infrastructure and services while creating thousands of public and private jobs.
     Right here in our own backyard, Florida’s local governments spend tens of billions of dollars every year in the private sector, on everything from paper clips to police cars, from radios to roads, from lamps to landfills. In fact, private contractors help to treat our water, light our streets and pick up our trash; in addition to mowing our medians, heating and cooling our buildings, and providing security.

[and. . .]

     Please take a moment to reflect on the role of local governments and the valuable services they provide, as well as the significant contribution made by private enterprises. Together, they are an important engine driving Florida’s economy.

The "public-private legislation" referenced above is a law signed by Governor Scott in 2013 which encourages Public-Private Partnerships or P3's for short. You can read about them here.