Mini-Case B (5 points)

In the following case, an error(s) was made by a public administrator(s). Identify the error(s) and according to theories, models, or techniques discussed in class or in the text, offer ways to correct the error(s).

In 2015, the state government sold the city of Flat Harbor 500 acres of "prime" lakefront property. The lakefront property was the site of a former public sanatorium. The public sanatorium was originally built by a world famous Art Deco architect in the 1920s to quarantine citizens with tuberculosis or other infectious diseases, but more recently was used by the state government to help rehabilitate juvenile crime offenders. In 2014, the state government transferred all of these juvenile residents of the sanatorium to another state facility. After intense lobbying by the city of Flat Harbor, the state government agreed to sell the lakefront property to the city of Flat Harbor for $500,000.

Once purchased, the city council of Flat Harbor gave the city manager, Bill Williams, all authority over the future of the lakefront property. With no input from anyone else, Mr. Williams immediately designed en economic development package for the property. His plan included turning the entire 500 acre property into a large industrial zone in order to lure new employers to Flat Harbor. In 2016, his plan worked. Awesom-O Products, a manufacturer of chlorine and hydrogen peroxide cleaning products, agreed to build a new manufacturing center on the 500 acre property. The major points of the agreement between Awesom-O and Flat Harbor included:

• Awesome-O would be responsible for building the new manufacturing center on the site.
• Awesome-O would eventually employ at least 75 people at the new center.
• Flat Harbor would be responsible for demolishing the former public sanatorium.
• Flat Harbor would retain ultimate ownership of the 500 acre property, but would lease it to Awesome-O for $1 for 99 years.

The city council approved of the agreement and in 2016 give Mr. Williams the "Flat Harbor Award of Excellence": an 8.5 x 11 inch paper certificate suitable for framing.