Is it too late to rethink B$L?

With project costs up, overnight riverboats out of business, the city budget stretched, and a tax increase under consideration, the answer is NO. It's time to pause, get accurate information and do a cost benefit analysis of the project before approving any more money or signing any more contracts.

MemphisCobblestones.com looks at "How far is too far to turn back?"

Memphis is not alone in the dilemma of how to deal with expensive projects in this down-economy.

The economic downturn has reined in a lot of ... big dreams and has also led to questions about whether ambitious building projects from Buffalo to Berkeley ever made sense to begin with

according to a New York Times article.

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How much $ is BSL really going to cost?

In December we learned there have been cost overruns and federal reductions, and that the City has been asked for $9M more dollars for Beale Street Landing. But exactly how much money has been spent? How much money will be spent? What share of that is City money? One blog, Memphis Cobblestones.com, has been trying to figure it out. Click HERE.

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B$L - The Inconvenient Truths

John Branston exposes fiscal incompetency on the riverfront and reveals why we are where we are:

• Recipe for Screwing Up a $35M Boat Dock

• Beale Street Landing Not on Time; Not Within Budget.

Recipe for Screwing Up a $35 million Boat Dock Posted by John Branston on Fri, Dec 18, 2009 at 1:00 PM

The Riverfront Development Corporation has posted something called “the truth about Beale Street Landing” on its website.

I have not been a fan of this project since it was conceived. I thought it was grandiose and likely to take several years to complete, cost more than advertised, and overshadow quicker and simpler riverfront improvements. But now that it is underway I hope it is a success. Really. I work half a mile away and walk on the riverfront several times a week.

But I also think the way the project got to this point has been a recipe for how not to do things. Here are some inconvenient truths not included.

Start with a “master plan” with a price tag of $270 million and an infinite timetable that assures there will be no accountability.

Create a Riverfront Development Corporation staffed by three former Memphis public officials and the wife of the city attorney, conveniently making RDC stand for Retired Directors Club.

Repackage same as a focused group with more flexibility and brains than the incompetent public sector.

Pay the executive director, Benny Lendermon, more than the mayor of Memphis but give the agency less responsibility than the mayor or even the Memphis Park Commission.

Gut the master plan by removing its centerpiece, the land bridge to Mud Island and the enclosed harbor. Discuss the ramifications of this rather important and far-reaching decision for less than three minutes at a board meeting.

Pack the board with fishing buddies of the executive director, friendly city council members, and celebrities like Cybill Shepherd, John Calipari and Jerry West who had no stake in the riverfront and didn’t come to many meetings and do not live here any more.

Find a place on the board for the proudly bellicose (ex) president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, Tommy Volinchak, but no place on the board for anyone from Friends For Our Riverfront or Joe Royer of Outdoors Inc, the founder of the canoe race and Cyclocross.

Act exasperated when they do not rise up and call you blessed.

Ignore the demonstrated popularity of minimalist Greenbelt Park across from Harbor Town, which costs little to maintain beyond cutting the grass and has virtually no capital improvements.

Ignore the lessons of Mud Island River Park, an architecture-driven white elephant plagued by delays and cost overruns and now closed half the year.

Ignore the lessons of Chattanooga’s popular riverfront, which has $42 million of private donations.

Take bids for a boat dock but ignore the possibility of a recession (check), the disappearance of overnight riverboat companies (check), the difficulty of building anything in the river especially at the mouth of a harbor and the likelihood of delays, cost increases, high maintenance, and fragile funding from Washington (check, check, and check).

Hire an architect from Argentina.

Use federal funds to leverage at least $20 million in city funds. Remind council members that the project was approved by previous council members, most of whom are no longer serving and who approved the worst administrative outrage in the history of Memphis, the 12-year pension bonanza. Leave current council little choice but to throw good money after bad.

Greet any shred of media skepticism with letters to the editor from board members, orchestrated by the RDC staff.

Lowball the cost of the project to the city council in the face of higher estimates from the city administration, ‘fess up seven months later, but accuse critics of being zany naysayers even if they actually use the riverfront, unlike the RDC board celebrities.

Ignore the probability of more price increases before project is completed in the summer 2011.

Be as adversarial as possible with regular users of the river and the boat docks like Joe Royer.

Go to war with Friends For Our Riverfront even though they are natural allies because 90 percent of the rest of Memphis doesn’t give a hoot about the riverfront after Memphis in May or worry much about tourism when they can’t make ends meet.

Insure thereby that no improvement to the overrated pile of rocks known as the cobblestones will be made for another decade and that attention will be diverted from the more important issue of Front Street.

Allow the corner of Beale and Riverside Drive to persist as a fenced-off weed yard that every tourist walking from The Peabody or Beale Street to the river can see before making that daring and challenging walk across Riverside Drive to Tom Lee Park.

Ask city council to “cough up” the “holdback” in federal funds at a time when household budgets and paychecks are being cut.

Take no blame.

Insist everything will be great.


Beale Street Landing: Not on Time, Not Within Budget Posted by John Branston on Tue, Dec 15, 2009 at 10:43 AM

The mantra for FedEx Forum was "on time, within budget, and exceed expectations." The mantra for Beale Street Landing might be the same with the addition of the word "not" a couple of times.

The Riverfront Development Corporation says the cost of former mayor Willie Herenton's signature riverfront project has increased by $8.9 million and the completion date is now the summer of 2011.

The cost overrun was not unexpected. When BSL came before the Memphis City Council in May, RDC director Benny Lendermon insisted the project cost, originally pegged at $27.4 million, was $31 million even though various documents from City Hall showed the cost was in excess of $33 million. When Councilman Kemp Conrad asked about "the delta" between the numbers, Lendermon said reports about the higher number were inaccurate.

It is now clear that they were, but on the low side, not the high side. The RDC now says the "current construction estimate" is $35 million.

The RDC reported the bad news last week in the fourth paragraph of a story on its website headlined "Beale Street Landing answers call for reunion of Memphis and the Mississippi."

"RDC has been especially prudent in managing its operating funds and careful in value-engineering various aspects of the project to reduce costs. Increases are due to a combination of delays, redesigns related to historical preservation issues, and cost escalation related to schedule delays. In addition, unexpected Congressional holdbacks have meant that federal funds designated for the project have been reduced by more than $1.4 million below what was anticipated and budgeted. Due to this nearly three-year delay, the RDC expects about $9 million in combined cost increases and funding decreases."

"Roughly $7 million of the cost increase is directly related to construction inflation, which was exacerbated as a result of Hurricane Katrina."

The federal funds "holdbacks" mean Memphis taxpayers will be asked to pay the difference as well as the cost increase. The project is underway at the north end of Tom Lee Park.

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B$L - City asked for $9M More to Cover Cost Overruns

The cost of Beale Street Landing was up - to $33M, the City Council was told in May. Memphis's share would be $22M.

Now, 6 months later, the cost has gone up again. The Commercial Appeal reports that the federal share is down, cost is up, and the City is being asked for another $9M to pay for Beale Street Landing.

Letters-to-editor raise questions; point out more problems; and urge City to investigate and get answers before committing any more money.

First, nail down all the costs
Letters-to-the-editor, Commercial Appeal, Sunday, December 20, 2009

Troublesome delays are primarily the absence of full accounting of all the costs of the Beale Street Landing project (Dec. 13 article, "Beale St. Landing delays add cost / Need for more money arises as riverfront project drags on").

In May 2009, the Memphis City Council was informed that the project's cost had risen to $33 million from $27.4 million, increasing the city's share to $22 million instead of $17.4 million. Within six months, the city's share has now climbed to $26.3 million, absorbing $8.9 million of the recent $9.6 million increase. State funds of $3.6 million have been spent. Federal funds ($7.9 million), not yet spent, are likely to be reduced approximately $1.4 million.

"Total cost" of $35 million is misleading, as that amount is only the cost of design and construction, excluding postconstruction sustainability costs, such as routine maintenance, operating expense, security and debt service payments on bonds estimated at $1.7 million per year. The actual total cost of the project has not yet been published.

Until all of the project costs are identified in detail and verified in an accounting of the total financial package, the City Council and Mayor A C Wharton cannot make a fully informed, fiscally responsible decision on the project: to approve it as-is, curtail it or modify it. It is necessary to know specific line-item costs of the landing's postconstruction sustainability -- its source of revenue and impact on our city budget. These urgent fiscal matters transcend considerations regarding other delays, a post-Katrina construction crunch or popularity of the design.

Lynda Ireland*
Memphis

RDC excuses don't add up
Riverfront Development Corp. president Benny Lendermon owes taxpayers (and not just those in Memphis, as federal monies are also involved) an explanation regarding his request for an additional $8.9 million to complete the Beale Street Landing project. Lendermon blames a two-year delay in construction commencement for an almost 30 percent cost overrun. His statements do not add up.

Lendermon blames the dramatically increased construction costs after Hurricane Katrina for bids that were higher than initially expected. Indeed Katrina did cause an increase in construction costs, but Katrina struck New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2005, almost three years before construction began on Beale Street Landing in July 2008. How could the construction bids not have reflected post-Katrina construction costs?

Lendermon continues his excuses by stating that costs have gone up as the project has dragged on. Almost anyone involved in commercial construction knows that construction costs have fallen dramatically in the last two years. Inverse from historical trends, any construction delays over the past couple of years should have proven cost-beneficial, and significantly so at that.

If Lendermon worked in the private sector, his behind would be in the CEO's office to explain why his project is almost 30 percent over budget during a time of construction cost deflation, and his project management ability would be brought into serious question, and rightfully so. Lendermon's excuses offered so far simply make no sense, and the City Council should investigate thoroughly before committing any more money to a project destined to be a boondoggle designed to serve a now virtually nonexistent riverboat excursion industry.

G.S. Fraser
Collierville


* In the interest of full disclosure, Lynda Ireland is a member of the board of Friends for Our Riverfront and lives on the riverfront.

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Foam on the River found to be Raw Sewage

Bianca Phillips reports in the Flyer:

From January 2005 to September 2009, the city's Maynard C. Stiles Waste Treatment Plant on North Second Street reported 1,170 overflows in which a total of 23 million gallons of raw sewage leaked into city streets, yards, and the Mississippi River and its tributaries. In addition, a sewage line broke in April 2008 and leaked 45 million more gallons of sewage over a 25-day period.

Memphis faces a possible lawsuit for violations of the Clean Water Act and is working with the Environmental Protection Agency to remedy the problems.

Murky Waters

City plant discharges sewage into local rivers and streams; environmental group threatens lawsuit.

The Mississippi River is famous for its muddy appearance, but dirt isn't the only brown stuff lurking in Memphis' portion of the river.

From January 2005 to September 2009, the city's Maynard C. Stiles Waste Treatment Plant on North Second Street reported 1,170 overflows in which a total of 23 million gallons of raw sewage leaked into city streets, yards, and the Mississippi River and its tributaries. In addition, a sewage line broke in April 2008 and leaked 45 million more gallons of sewage over a 25-day period.

The city-run waste treatment facility self-reported that information, as required by its Tennessee Department of Conservation permit. And now the Tennessee Clean Water Network, an independent environmental advocacy group based in Knoxville, has filed notice of its intent to sue the city over those violations of the Clean Water Act.

"The outcome we're hoping for is that the city will make the necessary improvements to the plant and the collection system," said Renee Hoyos, executive director of the Tennessee Clean Water Network.

A spokesperson for Mayor A C Wharton's office said public works officials weren't able to talk about the case since it's a pending legal matter, but confirmed that the city is working with the Environmental Protection Agency to remedy the problems.

The raw sewage that leaked during the overflows contained all sorts of pollutants, including E. coli, parasitic organisms, intestinal worms, and inhaled molds and fungi.

"Some sewage waste comes from household stuff, like your cleaning chemicals that you dump down the drain," Hoyos said. "If you painted your living room and washed your brushes in the sink, that's in there. If you dump pills down the toilet, that's in there."

Hoyos isn't sure what caused the overflows, but said some are likely caused by aging infrastructure. The M.C. Stiles plant was built in 1977.

"The trunk lines collect all the flushes, and the pipes are very old," Hoyos said. "They break like anything else, and they get worn down or clogged up with grease. Sometimes they get crushed by traffic."

The clean water network alleges that not only has the M.C. Stiles plant caused numerous illegal overflows, it's also been discharging white floating foam into the Mississippi River.

"The white foam is caused by phosphorus and that comes from cleaning products," Hoyos said. "Soap companies add phosphorus to make soaps foamy, but when discharged into the Mississippi River, it's contributing to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico."

In addition, the clean water network alleges that the M.C. Stiles plant is bypassing necessary treatment mechanisms before discharging waste into the Mississippi River. Though the plant is permitted to discharge treated waste into the river, a local kayaker has photographed solid materials, such as condoms, in the effluent discharged from the plant on several occasions. Proper treatment removes such solids from the waste.

"There's a lot of people in Memphis interested in making Memphis a place where you can recreate outdoors instead of having to drive to White River in Arkansas," Hoyos said. "But you can't put a canoe in the Wolf when millions of gallons of sewage are being leaked into it."

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"The River" for the Holidays

Annabelle Meacham's beautiful painting of The River is included in the Holiday Exhibition at Linda Ross Gallery, which runs Dec. 1-31.

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Memphis News cover story on Mud Island River Park Plans

In case you missed it, the cover story of this week’s Memphis News is an in-depth look at Mud Island River Park and plans for its future by Bill Dries.

There's also an interview with skate park advocate Aaron Shafer and an editorial with suggestions that are realistic, enhancing, and promise a bright future.

Click HERE for the article, HERE for Memphis News commentary and suggestions, HERE for interview with Shafer.

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Dickinson & Selvidge in True Story Pictures new "Music Interviews"

Don’t miss the release of True Story Pictures new DVD “The Music Interviews.” Two of the three musicians featured (Jim Dickinson and Sid Selvidge), gave their time and talent to create the CD “Save Our Riverfront” to support Friends for Our Riverfront.

Release party: Dec. 10 @ Memphis College of Art from 5:30-8pm. Tickets are $20. Click HERE to purchase online.
Click HERE to hear Dickinson tell about the source of the Memphis Sound.
Click HERE to learn more about “Save Our Riverfront” and HERE to order a copy.
Click HERE to learn more about award-winning True Story Pictures.

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