Those were the words of Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA) chair Kevin Fry at the end of the public comment period at Thursday’s board meeting.
The especially good news of the evening was that, either through remarkably good judgment and prescience or as a matter of luck, the LCCCA is entering into a three year contract to purchase natural gas when prices are especially low.
NewsLanc’s reporter Cliff Lewis had a social engagement so publisher Robert Field attended in his place.
After congratulating the board on the timing of the gas purchase, Field commented on the problem that the hotel lobby and restaurant only equal perhaps a sixth of a continuous multi-story convention center break-out area, yet the combined spaces have to be kept at lobby temperature, even though on most days the convention center portion is not in use.
Kevin Molloy, Executive Director, responded “We are learning over time how to utilize the facilities more efficiently. [Energy conservation] is high on our list, in the middle of our radar screen.”
Field inquired what efforts were being made to sub-meter electrical use for the hotel floors.
Molloy responded:
“About a year ago there was a conversation about what it would cost to sub-meter. Because it was not part of the design, it made it very difficult to sub off as much as we would like to do…The number of meters was so huge, we did not have enough funds at the time to do what we wanted. We can justify that it made sense to do it. But we can’t justify by our bank account.”
“It was greater than $500,000,” Molloy recalled, “It would take joint ownership [with Penn Square Partners] to look into it. [Instead] studies and negotiations were underway to determine how best to allocate these costs.”
Field then related NewsLanc’s experience in trying to learn from architects Cooper Carry and Tom Smithgall of Penn Square Partners regarding why a separate meter wasn’t designed for the upstairs hotel areas. Field said the partners at Cooper Carry told NewsLanc that the decision was strictly that of the“owners” as conveyed through Tom Smithgall who represented the High Group, the project manager and the general partner in Penn Square Partners.
In turn, Smithgall had subsequently told NewsLanc he didn’t know why the owners chose a single meter and would inquire and get back in touch with the information. He never did.
Board member R.B. Campbell suggested that Molloy consult with the construction project’s electrical contractor and also Penn Square Partners. It was pointed out that, according to formulae for sharing costs, sub-metering would be at the expense of the hotel owners.
Field then raised the question of possible liability of the architects and the construction manager if indeed such a deviation from the norm had not been brought to the attention and approved by the LCCCA.
Audience member Al Duncan commented that “Inheritance is not always a good thing.” He said due to changes in board members and personnel, it is hard to track down what was said in the past. He referred to “Monday morning quarter backing” and the “need to look forward.”
At that point board member Sharron Nelson admonished the board that “We all live in the same community. We need to work together in a collaborative fashion.” This was consistent with Nelson’s approach in passing over candidates with industry expertise in choosing appointees to the LCCCA board when she was a county commissioner.
So here we have the division of thought on the Lancaster scene: Whether to take a business, impersonal approach to managing the public’s affairs, ala veteran businessman Robert Field, or to avoid confrontations and maintain comity in the community, per Sharron Nelson.
The former approach can lead to bad feelings but holds people accountable. The latter avoids confrontation but sometimes enables predators to exploit the tax-paying public.
You choose!
