The Aquarium: Bait and Switch

According to State Treasurer John McCormac New Jersey taxpayers are no longer on the hook for the aquarium in Camden. The State has gone and hired a private firm to run the aquarium and the private company, Steiner & Associates has paid the state 1 million dollars for the privilege. According to the Express-Times " Under a lease agreement with the state, Steiner & Associates -- the Ohio-based, for-profit management firm contracted to run the facility -- will pay the state $1 million annually and guarantee at least 600,000 visitors annually in subsequent years "

This sounded way too good to be true and the catch my friends, came blasting out at me on the second page of the article.

"Along with the aquarium project, Steiner will redevelop a neighboring 30-acre site on the Camden Waterfront, both part of a $175 million Camden revitalization package enacted in 2002 by Gov. James E. McGreevey. The McGreevey administration called the initiative key to reversing the economic woes of Camden, the nation's second-poorest city."

So, let's get this straight. The taxpayer is off the hook, but Steiner gets 175 million contract. Amazing!