Exactly what offers has Poseidon made?

It would be nice to know all the new or old offers from Poseidon. Why wasn’t this done six months ago? It was interesting to see Billy Owens of Poseidon running around the council gallery at last week’s City Council meeting like a chicken with his head cut off trying to figure out what to do. He must have figured out the vote might not go his way and got one of his yes votes on the environmental report to get a postponement through until Nov. 21.

All of the city negotiations with Poseidon to this date have not been made public. We get bits and pieces but not the overall benefits to the city and in particular southeast Huntington Beach. This is not just a southeast issue. If there is any type of default or Huntington Beach has to assume any type of debt, it will be the whole city that will be affected by the increased rates, taxes, etc., not just southeast Huntington.

Issues that are being brought up in the negotiations were expressed by Councilman Dave Sullivan months ago when he asked what would happen if a public agency takes over Poseidon. Why were these questions not answered months ago? Why are we now we are getting around to negotiating what Poseidon is going to provide to the city?

All of this seems like midnight negotiations with the planning staff to get the project through. Why isn’t the staff making the negotiations available to the public? We are the ones that will eventually have to endure this plant if it is approved by the council and have to pay for it if it becomes another Tampa Bay debacle.

* TOPPER HORACK is a Huntington Beach resident. To contribute to “Sounding Off,” e-mail us at hbindependent@latimes.com or fax us at (714) 966-4667.