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Dear Editor,

Piss poor… a commonly used euphemism to describe an effort or decision that is disappointing or lacking.

Its origin is from the Depression era, where it was used to describe the financial status of a family who collected and sold their own urine in pots to leather tanning shops who needed the uric acid in their trade.

The 60-year-old Port Arthur Yacht Club (PAYC) has historically provided opportunities for resident kids and community programs that are well documented, yet a few City administrators seem hell bent on evicting them from their Pleasure Island home.

Instead of renewing a successful 50-year land lease, the City has twice put the PAYC building (who PAYC paid for and built such) up for bid to lease. In both bids, the Pleasure Island director/staff has recommended awarding contracts to the only two other bidders that responded.

Given the poor response, a prudent person might easily surmise that well qualified business entities will not consider making a Port Arthur investment.

Those two folks that did bid (along with PAYC ) subsequently were found ineligible due to glaring conflicts of interest or have demonstrated a poor financial ability to start or finish Regional projects.

Not once has the Pleasure Island director/staff given the City Council or the public the opportunity to evaluate the PAYC bid strengths. Their actions may possibly smack of favoritism, collusion or at worst, discrimination.

It’s my hope that Council will see past these staff miss steps and do the right thing.

This brings me to the follow up euphemism that sums up this much bungled circus act. They don’t even have a pot to piss in.

— David Bradley, Vice Commodore PAYC