Kurtz Calls for Answers on Bader Field, Says State Review Lacks Transparency

ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic City Councilman Jesse Kurtz says residents deserve more information about the status of the proposed redevelopment of Bader Field, arguing that state officials overseeing portions of the process have failed to provide adequate public updates.

During an appearance on Talking with Anne, Kurtz was asked where plans currently stand for the massive redevelopment proposed for the former municipal airport.

His answer was straightforward: As a member of City Council, he doesn't fully know.

"I wish I had a better answer as a local council person," Kurtz said. "I don't know."

The proposed Renaissance at Bader Field project from DEEM Enterprises calls for transforming the approximately 143-acre former airport property into a massive mixed-use development centered around an automobile racing circuit, along with housing, retail, dining and other attractions.

The project has been undergoing financial and regulatory review. Atlantic City officials previously said DEEM submitted a financial commitment for the multibillion-dollar proposal that would require vetting by both the city and State of New Jersey before a redevelopment agreement could move forward.

Kurtz said the problem, in his view, is that numerous layers of government above the municipal level now have roles in the process.

He cited the governor's office, state cabinet agencies and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority among the entities involved in reviewing or approving aspects of the project.

Kurtz said he does not object to additional checks and balances. His criticism is that the public has little ability to scrutinize what those higher levels of government are doing.

"The issue I have is not that there's checks and balances, which is a great thing," Kurtz said. "But the issue I have is that the scrutiny only goes one way these days."

Kurtz said local officials face significant public scrutiny while state agencies have not provided similarly detailed explanations about the status of their review of the Bader Field proposal.

He argued that state officials could make review documents, reports and other information available online as the process moves forward.

"They have an obligation to give timely and thorough updates to the public," Kurtz said. "That's what is a good thing about websites. They can issue their review memos and reports and such on the public websites, and they haven't."

Kurtz then delivered his sharpest criticism of the process.

"It's a darn shame that they have kind of hidden where the process is," he said.

One issue that has complicated the project involves replacement of state-designated open space at Bader Field. Mayor Marty Small said earlier this year that resolving that requirement was among the issues holding up approval.

Kurtz said he receives pieces of information about the development and follows the process closely, but ultimately believes the entities with greater authority over the project should be providing residents with a clearer picture.

"I have information. I have little things that you hear there and hear," Kurtz said. "I follow the bouncing ball, but at the end of the day, they have the power."

The councilman connected the Bader Field issue to his broader criticism of New Jersey's continuing oversight of Atlantic City.

State intervention was originally intended to improve the functioning of city government, Kurtz said, but he believes it has instead diminished local control while failing to provide the transparency residents should expect.

"The whole reason for having state oversight is that, A, it should be temporary on a limited basis, and B, it was to show us, like, how to do functioning government here," Kurtz said. "They've made things less transparent to the members of the public over the years and years that they've been here."

Kurtz said he believes the state should have ended its oversight of Atlantic City years ago.

For now, however, the future of Bader Field remains tied to a complicated approval process involving both local and state government — precisely the process Kurtz says needs to become more transparent.