Working efficiently and cost-effectively.

By Sally Campbell

Balancing economic development and environmental concerns.

When I was elected in 1992, the Harbor District was in debt. This debt was not the result of frivilous spending, it was incurred by previous boards when the harbors were built. The first loan was issued in 1973 to start the development of Oyster and Pillar Point and the final installment was issued around 1988. Because the harbor development was done in increments,the loans were made in increments. These loans are from Cal Boat and Waterways who derives their monies from part of state gasoline tax and are much like a 30-year mortgage on your home, except these loans carry a very low, preferential interest rate. Like homes built in those years, the improvements have increased substantially in value. The balance of the debt today is $17-million.

State government siphons off much of our District's tax revenue while operational costs continue to rise. We've lost a half-million dollars per year to the state just since 1992 and find ourselves in the position of being required to make needed repairs, finance ongoing maintenance, give part of our income to the state and reduce the old debt without heavily impacting users and the taxpayers.

I feel I have made substantial progress in the financial area. I worked to ensure collection of back rental fees and spearheaded the construction of public facilities with attached rental space to further increase the District's income. We have multi-million dollar hotels and other environmently friendly projects that will greatly increase the District's income while providing jobs, and financilly bolstering neighboring communities. One such project is the Hilton Hotel for Oyster Point Marina. This project was approbed at the Harbor Board's regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday night, Oct. 18. The vote was 3-1 with Boardmember Lundie voting no. On Wed. Oct. 25, the City Council of So. San Francisco voted 5-0 in favor of the project. The construction and operation of the 332 room Hilton will create hundreds of jobs for local residents and generate tax monies for local governments. It also brings new additional revenues (from base rent plus 3% lease rate) to the Harbor District of $80,000 annually. The project is environmentally sound (with the developer handling a massive clean-up of a former dumping site,) and in no way encroaches on the public's access to the Marina. Groundbreaking ceremonies are scheduled for February 2001 and the hotel is scheduled to open for business in December 2002. In addition, the developer guarantees $3.6 million within a 4-year period for Trnsient Occupancy Tax to the City.

I will continue to fight for the kind of common-sense projects that will help our harbors both financially and environmentally. I will also continue to fight for increased services for user groups, residents and visitors.