We Ask Declared 2nd Dist. Council Candidates How They Would Have Responded/Voted On City Staff Negotiated/Recommended Lease Terms For New Queen Mary Operator/Adjacent Land Developer; Two Candidates Respond; No Response From A Third

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(Nov. 24, 2015) -- In the wake of City Councilmembers' Nov. 17 action -- voting 9-0 without asking businesslike questions, without insisting on responsive responses, without mentioning the Queen Mary in the public notice agenda title, without pursuing legitimate issues raised by the public in Council testimony and without seeing (or showing the public) lease text that would commit the city for the next 66 years on staff-negotiated terms with a proposed new private operator/developer -- LBREPORT.com asked the three currently declared candidates for LB's 2nd Council district (where the ship and adjacent developable land are located) the following questions:

In what ways would your actions and vote have differed, if at all, from those of the 2nd district incumbent in response to the city staff memo (link follows) seeking your approval for a new 66 year lease for a new lessee for the Queen Mary and adjoining city land? For your reference, city staff's agendizing memo is at this link.
Also for your reference, LBReport.com’s coverage reported issues raised in public testimony and includes on-demand audio of the full Council item at this link: at this link. In what ways, if at all, would your response to the issues raised in public testimony have differed from the incumbent?

On Nov. 21, we sent the above message simultaneously to publicly listed campaign related email addresses for all three candidates. Candidate Eric Gray was the first to respond in less than 24 hours on Sunday Nov. 22. Candidate Jeannine Pearce contacted us on Monday Nov. 23 and provided text at early morning Nov. 24. Despite a second email sent by us on Monday, we received no response from a third declared candidate (nameless here unless/until she responds.)

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We provide their responses in the order received.

Eric Gray

I believe we have an extraordinary opportunity to further preserve and enhance the Queen Mary and to also effectively develop the parcel of land surrounding the ship with entertainment uses. It appears staff has done a thorough job in vetting Urban Commons while also negotiating a lease, which will benefit the Queen Mary, Long Beach, and the future leaseholder who is taking on a considerable risk moving forward with this project.
I understand there was a point of contention on if 9% is too much of a profit percentage to Urban Commons. This is one of the questions I would have asked if elected, to determine if 9% is standard across the industry because I believe as a city, it is important to ensure that all stakeholders are being treated fairly. Stakeholders in this situation being the City of Long Beach, Tax Payers, Urban Commons, and the Queen Mary and its surrounding parcel of land including the Carnival Cruise Line Terminal.
I do agree with many of the points our current council member Suja Lowenthal made after public comment. She discussed where we were 10 years ago, acknowledged the role Garrison Investment made in managing the ship even though it was not part of their original mission which includes managing the hotel and restoring the Queen Mary according to the conservation management plan. She provided comment on the potential of the parcel of land and the opportunity to improve the area economically. Lastly, she brought up including the Queen Mary Land Development Taskforce, a group of selected community members in discussions to revitalize the parcel of land.
Where I would have differed from the incumbent is what I had stated previously above about discussing if 9% is a fair profit margin for Urban Commons. I also would have requested more of the lease to be shown, and request staff that when adding this item to the agenda provide more detail as to what Operations Agreement No. 22697 is including the verbiage "Queen Mary." I believe the general public would have had more of an opportunity to weigh in. It does seem pretty clear that Urban Commons does intend to revitalize this parcel of land however showing this agreement in the lease I believe is important. Overall, I think this is a great opportunity for Long Beach and look forward to further following this issue closely.

Jeannine Pearce

The Queen Mary is an incredible asset to Long Beach that we must value as a City and is deserving of a grand effort to restore and rebuild it to its historic beauty. What is also incredibly valuable are the voices of all the stakeholders that could benefit or might be impacted by future development on the site.
If I am elected to the City Council, transparency will play a central role in all my council decisions and ensuring that Long Beach taxpayers get the best deal from the actions we undertake as a Council. Looking at the Queen Mary and this lease agreement, I have a lot of questions that remain unanswered and question the process the Council took to inform the community and all stakeholders of this agreement. Some of my questions include:
This is a historic project, how were community members informed about this issue coming before council in addition to the agenda being posted?
It concerns me that the entire rent the Lessee is paying for operating the Queen Mary is being solely reinvested in the project. Could some percentage go into an unrestricted fund that can pay for fire, police, or coastal preservation?
Is a 66 year leasehold the best option for the City of Long Beach? Where are the options for the community and city to renegotiate the lease during the 66 years if circumstances change?
How does this lease compare to those agreed to by other cities for similar land?

Going forward, I look forward to supporting creative new development projects that have all stakeholders at the table, so we can provide the best deal for our tax payers. I look forward to working with the new Lessee of the Queen Mary to bring in locally owned businesses to the site and create a working balance between job creation and economic development, protecting and preserving our coastline, and supporting a surrounding neighborhood.