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Mariano's imperfect parochialism

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By TOM JACKSON

Published: November 8, 2009

Everybody loves a hometown guy, especially when it comes to hometown politics. That's why you can't help but want to chuck Jack Mariano amiably on the chin - ya big lug, ya - whenever he goes all parochial on behalf of hyper-local issues.

I mean, if county commissioners aren't looking out for the home folks, who will be?

That said, sometimes getting to the best possible local outcome involves taking a detour outside the cozy confines of Pasco County. In the case of Pasco's proposed multisport complex, to be constructed with $11 million from the tourist tax treasury, who manages the thing squarely fits the roundabout requirement.

The county already has forged a preliminary partnership with Sportsplex USA, a San Diego-based company with expertise in running sports/entertainment venues such as the one proposed for Pasco. Sportsplex has agreed to identify the best available site for the park, the purpose of which is to lure visitors for overnight stays.

Whether Sportsplex will continue as the county's sidekick in the adventure through construction and operation is unresolved, although a majority of commissioners - led by the board's lone Democrat, Michael Cox - favors continuing.

Perfect confluence botched

Mariano is less convinced. When Sportsplex spurned his request for 15 years of financial records, instead offering - as is common business practice - the last three years from an operation similar to the one proposed for Pasco, Mariano bristled unnecessarily.

Mariano also has declared himself uneasy about seeing money collected at a county-constructed facility being funneled to some out-of-state corporate headquarters. His concern would be perfectly understandable if a viable local alternative existed.

Once upon a time, the opportunity to forge that ideal confluence - county-owned facility, experienced local management team - existed. But that rare, exquisite prospect came to a disappointing nothing at the hands of a county administrator who could not have more effectively sabotaged the tennis stadium if he'd done so on purpose.

And commissioners never held him accountable.

A very bad idea

Now the county must make the best of a situation that can never approach a condition superior to less than perfect. But there is not quite perfect, and there is couldn't-find-perfect-with-a-GPS-and-the-Hubbell-telescope.

The latter describes Mariano's reflexive thought, which is to divvy up responsibility for running the $11 million facility among the boards of assorted local amateur leagues.

These are some of the same people who routinely get into red-faced throwdowns over practice and playing rights on government-owned fields. Mariano wants them in charge? Hoteliers shouldering the burden of paying into the county's tourist tax fund since the previous century, and to whose benefit a well-operated sports complex would accrue, should be howling.

Come Tuesday, when commissioners commence a series of public hearings on the prospective sports complex, perhaps howling is precisely what they shall do.

Keyword: The Jax Files, for Tom Jackson's bonus insights.

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