Opinion / Open Letter
Doing the Right Thing
The Downtown Neighbors Alliance (DNA) urges Commissioner Ken Russell to exercise the City’s right to terminate the Ultra Revocable License vis-à-vis a lingering Covid-19 Pandemic. By Amal Solh Kabbani.
Commissioner Russell,
The Downtown Neighbors Alliance respectfully requests that the Commissioner sponsor a resolution exercising the City’s right to terminate without cause the Ultra Revocable License Agreement at the May 14 Commission meeting, for the following reasons:
1. The May 14 meeting is the last opportunity for the City to cancel the agreement without cause. Section 3.4.2 of the Revocable License Agreement states: “Licensee or City may, at their respective option and without the other party’s consent, terminate this Agreement upon at least three hundred and five (305) days’ notice prior to the next subsequent Event.”
2. The City has the absolute right to cancel this agreement prior to expiration of the 305 day deadline, which would be May 25, 2020. So, if the Commission doesn’t take this up at the May 14 meeting, an Ultra event in 2021 is a fait accomplis.
3. Given the COVID19 pandemic, and the assessment by many experts that the virus will still be with us well into 2021 or 2022, it is imperative that the City Commission discuss the wisdom of keeping a contract that gives a private company the right to fill a City property to the brim with 55,000 people.
4. The contract did not take many concerns into real consideration, which landed the City in a legal challenge. Terminating the contract now would allow the City to (1) resolve the litigation immediately and (2) negotiate a better contract if and when the conditions are right again for hosting large scale events.
5. By “better,” we mean one that respects the residents’ rights not to be bombarded with paralyzing noise, and not to lose park access for nearly two months. Keep in mind that under current conditions the loss in property values and taxes will likely outweigh the professed economic benefits of Ultra. At a minimum, cancelling the contract now will allow for the City to actually calculate the fiscal costs and benefits involved.
6. Not discussing an option granted to the City prior to the option’s expiration is a gross mishandling of the City’s responsibility to its residents, and is indicative of bad governance.
Respectfully,
Amal Kabbani, President, Downtown Neighbors Alliance.
If you liked what you read, please share it. To receive Downtown News updates and invitations to talks and arts and science salons sponsored by Downtown News, register by clicking here.
