By Eric Smith -- The Capital

NO CITY PROJECT we can recall has been bungled worse than the administration's effort to find a new tenant for the Market House.

To review: The city, in effect, ousted the Market House's longtime vendors. Then, with great fanfare, city officials announced that Dean & DeLuca - a high-class gourmet grocer - was ready to take over the renovated building and open in time for the October boat shows.

After weeks of speculation, Dean & DeLuca mysteriously bowed out, for reasons that have not yet been explained by Mayor Ellen Moyer or anyone else. Without any further discussion with the aldermen, the mayor tried to give the lease to Annapolis Seafood - a last-minute partner in Dean & DeLuca's city venture. Some aldermen objected - vehemently. Annapolis Seafood realized it had stumbled into a political controversy and decided to bail out before it could forfeit local good will.

So, now what do Mayor Ellen Moyer and her administration have? There will be no tenant when the boat shows open - just an empty building and one big black eye for the city.

Officials are not explaining what happened to Dean & DeLuca, won't include the City Council in the discussion and continue to proclaim that it's not their fault. How can taxpayers ever hope for a resolution?

The only good judgment on display came from Nick Bassford, the owner of Annapolis Seafood. He came to last week's meeting of the council's Economic Matters Committee to present his plans for taking over the Market House, and instead heard two aldermen calling for an investigation. So, on Friday, he did what any smart businessman would have done in the circumstances - he got out. Why would he want to deal with all these clowns?

If Annapolis Seafood can have no confidence in the city, what savvy businessman will? At this point, city officials may as well wait until after the election to resume discussion of the Market House's future. For now, the issue is in the center ring of a political circus and no sensible resolution is possible. Perhaps a new mix of elected officials will be capable of communication and teamwork.

In the meantime, the Market House should be an election issue. The responsibility for what happened falls squarely on the shoulders of the mayor, who must now explain to the voters her administration's handling of this lease.

When serious discussion resumes, we hope it includes one more alternative: having the city get out of the landlord business and sell the Market House. We know this would require a change in the City Charter, but given what has happened so far, we have little confidence that any government - present or future - can handle this matter competently.

- No Jumps-

Published August 30, 2005, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2005 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.