EDITORIAL: What Penn Square Partners can do to redress past errors and heal wounds

The imminent depriving of the Lancaster Tourist Bureau of its share of the Hotel Room Rental Sales Tax due to Convention Center financial short falls has re-opened old and deep wounds in the public psyche.

Over a decade, the project morphed from some $40 million to over $185 million under the project management of a subsidiary of the High Group.

Last minute financial shenanigans by outgoing commissioners bound the hands of the future commissioners from withdrawing county guarantee of convention center debt.

An LCCCA application for a $15 million grant from the state was misleading if not outright fraudulent in that it referred to a non-existent “feasibility study” when in fact only market studies had been commissioned (and later largely ignored.)   When a last minute PKF Feasibility Study ordered by the County Commissioners predicted the current shortfalls, it was scorned and ignored.

The sponsors continuously misled officials and the public by falsely claiming to have conducted a feasibility study.

The city appointed majority on the Lancaster County Convention Center Board (LCCCA) used heavy handed tactics to squelch dissent, refused to order a feasibility study, and ran up over $7 million in legal bills.

An extensive countywide telephone poll by a national firm established that 78% of those with an opinion opposed government guarantees of convention center LCCCA debt.  It too was scorned and ignored.

The LCCCA solicitor failed to discuss with  board members and thus  make public  the unusual and one sided arrangements favoring Penn Square Partners, equitable owners of the Marriott Hotel.  Moreover, board members were given woefully insufficient time to review the voluminous documents and their protests for additional time were rebuffed.

The City of Lancaster through RACL was saddled with ownership of the hotel and guarantee of its debt.

The School District of Lancaster, along with the city and county, were deprived of real estate taxes from the Marriott Hotel.

The project was financed on reckless terms and conditions with little if any regard for the consequences when the bank guarantee of debt expired in five years, leading to draconian charges to renew the guarantee.

Lastly, and most pertinent for this discussion, the otherwise admirable Lancaster Newspapers, Inc., 50% owner of Penn Square Partners through its subsidiary, lost its way and, whatever its initial motivations, propagandized on behalf of the convention center project, cruelly attacked project critics and elected officials, and turned its back on outlandish abuse of power by then district attorney and now judge Donald Totaro.

There are two things that should be done now to help heal what is likely to cause an even greater rift in our community as problems continue to mount.

First, the newspapers should follow the lead the Times-Leader in Wilkes-Barre when, years ago,  it printed a front page ‘mea culpa’ apologizing for bias reporting in support of an arena  project.  (It also fired its publisher.)

Second, Penn Square Partners, which consists of subsidiaries of the Lancaster Newspaper Inc. and the High Group, should agree to eliminate all unfair, exploitive conditions in their agreements with the LCCCA and commit to providing the School District of Lancaster with $250,000 a year in lieu of the far greater real estate taxes it would have paid if it were the direct owner rather than equitable owner of the Marriott Hotel.

It is sad for two great traditions, that of the Steinmans and that of the Highs, to be so tarnished.    Let them acknowledge their mistakes, apologize to all concerned, and make partial  restitution.  In this way they will regain much of the respect honorably earned by their predecessors.