Black Friday. I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I’m definitely not flying the coup early on a day that I don’t have to get up for work just to save a little money. But, there are birdies that do, and I guess that’s their prerogative, especially if they’re shopping for my non-denominational holiday gift!
Well, REI will not be open. Not that an REI exists anywhere near here, but the chain is trying to get people outdoors on the national day of indoor shopping. AND it started a trend. National Parks and 49 California State Parks have free admission that day!
The state’s free day is sponsored by the Save the Redwoods League and is focused on state parks that feature redwood trees. If Big Sur wasn’t already a big-ass gigantic mess of people, this Friday, Nov. 27, it’s probably going to be crazy town. If you want to participate, you have to print out a pass from savetheredwoods.org/freefriday.
But—and this is the ONE reason why having an internationally appealing destination so close to home sucks—the free passes to all of the state parks in Big Sur have sold out already. Although, there are still passes available to North Coast and Sonoma area parks.
Way to go Save the Redwoods! You came up with a plan, worked with a state agency to make it happen, and successfully marketed your plan to the consumer. That’s not as easy as it sounds.
As the city of Lompoc now knows all too well, having a great idea and making it happen are two extremely different things. How long has that city been a target for a fancy space-themed park? A decade? Maybe longer?
The most recent incarnation of that beloved pie in the sky dream came from Eva Blaisdell, CEO of California Space Consortium LLC, who brought her incomplete project to the table in 2014, when the city of Lompoc asked for development proposals for a site near Allan Hancock College’s Lompoc campus. It was, after all, the only project proposal to meet the deadline. As in, it was in by deadline but missing key components, such as who or what would be putting development muscle and money behind the project. A high standard if I ever heard one.
However, she promised the $460 million project would come with companies like Apple, Amazon, IMAX, and Sony in Lompoc!
“How many $450 million projects have been proposed to the city of Lompoc?” asked one public commenter at a City Council hearing on Nov. 17 (which I watched on Lompoc’s YouTube channel. Talk about getting with it. This is some riveting stuff people). Nobody but Blaisdell. Does that tell you something?
Maybe this project is unrealistic. Lompoc isn’t like Anaheim (hello Disneyland), which has proximity to an area with 18.55 million people. The entirety of Santa Barbara County has around 440,000 people in it.
The hearing was held to decide whether or not to terminate an exclusive negotiating agreement with Blaisdell for the property in question, because the Space Consortium hasn’t met several deadlines stipulated in that agreement. The city gave Blaisdell a notice of default in September and gave her until the end of October to respond. And, as usual, she came back with more promises that she would deliver on. As opposed to the promises she already made that she has yet to deliver on.
John Linn, former Lompoc city mayor and “Space Center supporter since 2011” spoke at the meeting in support of keeping the project. He basically said the current space center attempt is to the previous two attempts like a fighter jet is to a bicycle. He’s all over this thing.
Jobs! Money! Tourists!
I don’t think anyone’s told him yet: Those things only come when something actually gets developed.
“This can’t be a conventional project. … You have an opportunity here to have someone go forward and spend their money, and I believe be successful,” he told the City Council. “She’s simply asking for some time to work her way through it. Please, give her the time.”
It sounds wonderful, but the reality is that Blaisdell and her supporters sound exclusively crazy because nothing tangible or concrete has made it to the table yet!
City Manager Patrick Wiemiller told City Council members that, “There’s no way to get around the idea that it may be a nontraditional project, but it’s not so nontraditional that you’re not looking at the basic fiduciary aspects. … The conditions haven’t been met.”
He added that termination to the exclusive contract doesn’t preclude the Space Consortium from moving forward with its plans, it just puts the land out there for other people to submit development plans for. And since it’s sitting empty right now, and this pipe dream of a space center still seems to only exist in Blaisdell’s head, it seems like a win-win for the city. But, just to be clear, nobody’s champing at the bit to develop something else, so there could pretty much still be “exclusive” negotiating happening.
Blaisdell and Councilmember James Mosby went back and forth during the meeting, with Mosby asking Blaisdell if there was something in the agreement that needed to be changed.
“We have these holes that need to be filled,” Mosby said.
“I believe we delivered everything in the spirit of the agreement,” Blaisdell said.
“Spirit’s not going to get us through this,” Mosby said. Amen, brother.
After minutes of not getting anywhere with that particular discussion, the council thankfully moved on. Not surprisingly, the City Council opted to terminate, terminate, terminate. After four chances to provide information, extensions on those deadlines, and receiving nothing, it’s about time our elected officials figured out that they better put the city’s exclusive time into other things.
The Canary wants you to exclusively read what she writes, but knows that’s not the reality. Send comments to canary@santamariatimes.com.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2015.
