The new Florence fisaco

Commentary: The only logical alternative to such epic incompetence is epic arrogance.

The reader will surely remember that scene in "The Wizard of Oz" where Toto pulls back the curtain, exposing the wizard for a fraud. In desperation, the little man tells Dorothy and her friends to "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" The word for such a complete and ridiculous failure, when a pretender cannot sustain his illusions, is "fiasco."

Florence has been the victim of many expensive schemes: the conference center, the Renaissance Tower, Frost Park, etc. Then came the RSA project; at last, it seemed possible that the center and tower, at least, could be turned into successes.

But now, one last great fiasco looms large on the front page of the TimesDaily. Yes, the sportsplex on Gunwaleford Road has turned out to be another boondoggle: the site was chosen too quickly and without adequate testing. Millions of dollars in cost overruns are the almost-inevitable result.

Yet what elevates this simple boondoggle into the rarefied realm of fiasco is the fact that it isn't in Veterans Park.

I refer the reader to the recent statement by David Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama, that he wanted to build "top-notch ballparks in (Veterans Park) to attract major sporting tournaments."

Ever since Florence first heard about the RSA project in 2003, Bronner called a tourist attraction at Veteran's Park "the most important link in the RSA project." Everyone concerned has always agreed that Bronner had final say on what that attraction would be. Now, Mr. Bronner has spoken, and we are evidently building the sportsplex in the wrong place.

"Why was there such a rush to get the ball fields moved out of Veterans Park? How did this happen?" I hear you cry. Dear reader, I can only tell you so much; the rest is murky, and the wizards behind this fiasco are not talking. By January 2005, Florence began moving Veterans Park facilities, including the ball fields, to make way for that future tourist attraction, the heart of this RSA project, which could have been a sportsplex.

Now let me remind the reader of the Bass Pro Shops debacle. Lost amid that uproar was this simple fact: Veterans Park never, ever belonged to the city of Florence. It belongs to TVA. The city always had an easement for the park, but the easement was solely for recreation. TVA never, ever permitted commercial or retail operations there. A sportsplex, yes; outlet stores, no. Yet it wasn't until January of this year - after TVA put the kibosh on Bass Pro, and four years after the RSA deal was inked - that anyone, from any agency, formally asked TVA about its land-use requirements.

An anatomy of the RSA project is in order. There are four agencies involved: RSA, TVA, the city of Florence, and something called the Public Park Authority, or PPA. Despite its name, the PPA is only barely public; it rarely holds public meetings, and has no legal authority over anything except the public bond issue to pay for the RSA project. TVA is a vast, distant, quasi-federal agency. David Bronner is a busy man who spends most of his working time in Montgomery. That leaves only the city of Florence, and specifically the mayor's office. Mayor Bobby Irons was supposed to be Johnny-on-the-spot; he alone was responsible for coordination and communication between all parties to ensure the best outcome. But we got a fiasco instead.

Why? Perhaps Mayor Irons forgot the park lands belong to TVA, failed to make a few phone calls, neglected to ask Bronner's opinion, and botched the selection of the sportsplex site.

The only logical alternative to such epic incompetence is an epic arrogance: the Bass Pro Shops plan was a land-grab from the start. Mayor Irons rushed the sportsplex project, hid the truth from Bronner, and hoped no one would notice a strip mall under construction in Veterans Park.

Or perhaps the answer is somewhere in between. Either way, it's clear this fiasco begins and ends in the mayor's office, but this fiasco did not happen in isolation. Fiascos never do. Indeed, in explaining why there has been no new plan for Veterans Park since the Bass Pro deal collapsed, Mayor Irons told the TimesDaily: "So far, we have not been able to come up with anything doable or practical that would achieve what we need."

We? Who are "we?" Unless Mayor Irons is using the "royal we," it seems the mayor is not the man behind the curtain - rather, he IS the curtain.

If so, he should step aside and let sunlight shine on the wizards behind this fiasco.

Matt Osborne is a Florence resident.