Take beachfront redevelopment, for example.

A few months ago, I was contacted by a group of residents who were rightly concerned about the effects of a proposed street-widening plan on their homes.

While we were resolving the issue, an individual allegedly called them and claimed that beachfront redeveloper Larry Fishman, the head of Asbury Partners, had secretly admitted that Asbury Partners was purposely widening the street - not to convert it from one-way to two-way traffic, as Fishman publicly claimed - but because the developer wanted to render their homes uninhabitable so they'd sell them to Asbury Partners.

This individual even reportedly told the homeowners (whose property is in the beachfront area, but not subject to eminent domain) that people who declined to sell their homes might lose them through some other means - like fire, for example.

Sounds pretty ominous, huh? Until, that is, you ask why Larry Fishman would have revealed all that to an individual who had publicly and repeatedly criticized Asbury Partners in the past.

And until you understand that Fishman had readily agreed - in public and in writing - to a plan amendment that would retain the current street width to protect those homes.

Over the past 1-1/2 years, I've heard dozens of similar rumors, some less disturbing, some more so. (Another memorable example: the individual who consistently belittled our redeveloper's efforts in public and in writing, and then - surprise! - suddenly showed up in city hall with an alternate set of developers to promote.)

It is tempting to brush off such shenanigans, particularly when there are so many real issues that need our attention. But, as beachfront redevelopment attorney Jim Aaron recently reminded me in his usual succinct fashion, "Rumor becomes perception and perception becomes reality."

So, beginning today, I'd like to tackle some of the current misinformation swirling around our beachfront redevelopment plan and review our progress to date.

You may not like everything I have to report. In some cases, I may not like it myself. But you'll have a better idea of where we currently stand and what it means to the city's bottom line. And dispelling rumors means we can free ourselves to work together on the real issues facing Asbury Park.

Where to start? In a recent editorial, a city resident wrote, "And what has Asbury Partners done that the city couldn't? Absolutely nothing." I strongly disagree.

Back in July, 2001, when we first assumed office, Asbury Park was speeding toward bankruptcy. The city's budget was over $4 million in the hole. The state was threatening a takeover and demanding that we lay off 29 employees. Labor contracts had not been settled in four years, meaning the city owed a small fortune in back raises and benefits.

A full mile of beachfront lay virtually untouchable, due to a failed, 1980s beachfront deal that was mired in bankruptcy restrictions. Failed redeveloper Joseph Carabetta owed $11.5 million in back taxes on his extensive beachfront holdings. And, adding insult to injury, the city had to devote a sizable amount of its available cash to a state-mandated "reserve for uncollected taxes" to cover those delinquent funds.

The state itself - which had offered to partner with the previous council on beachfront redevelopment costs - was now facing its own budget crisis.

Then, in August, 2001, the log jam broke: the company now known as Asbury Partners offered the city $6.5 million in a public bid to purchase Carabetta's tax liens, and they negotiated a deal with Carabetta - approved by the bankruptcy court - to purchase Carabetta's land and his beachfront redevelopment rights.

The city was then mandated to negotiate a new redevelopment deal with Asbury Partners, but it is important to understand that we could not start with a clean slate. Asbury Partners had the legal right to develop our beachfront according to the less-than-perfect Carabetta plan, and our challenge was to win significant new concessions for the city.

The result, I firmly believe, is a vastly improved deal for Asbury Park. What have we seen so far?

Asbury Partners is now paying taxes on its beachfront properties and the annual figure will rise significantly as redevelopment progresses. Our reserve for uncollected taxes has also decreased proportionally, freeing up money for other uses.

Convention Hall and the beachfront pavilions - which have passed back into private hands, as they were when James Bradley originally envisioned Asbury Park - will now generate tax revenues, decreasing the burden on city taxpayers in a town where an incredible 30 percent of our potential ratable base is tax exempt.

And, equally significant, once Asbury Partners began buying or renting our beachfront structures, the city's own beachfront operation costs plummeted 61 percent, from $613,802 in 2001 to $239,135 in 2003. (More about Convention Hall and the other beachfront buildings in an upcoming column.)

In addition, we negotiated to have the city-owned boardwalk completely rebuilt, from the pilings up, by Asbury Partners for $4 million - an undeniable bargain, given that the small section of boardwalk decking the city replaced in 2001 cost taxpayers $826,161 and included only minor substructure improvements.

There's no question that a restored boardwalk is a key first step to beachfront recovery, but funds were nowhere in sight.

As it now stands, however, Asbury Partners is on schedule to complete the southern half of the boardwalk by March of this year and the area north to Seventh Avenue by July 4 - a momentous achievement that rates a citywide celebration. (And, for those who believe that civic responsibility extends far beyond hometown borders, our council ruled that no endangered rainforest wood will be used.)

Over the course of redevelopment, Asbury Partners must also upgrade our beachfront's seriously decayed infrastructure and neglected streetscape - an estimated $49 million expense that the city would have borne under the Carabetta redevelopment agreement. (Infrastructure details to follow.)

Moreover, all our considerable professional fees to date - from engineers and planners, to attorneys and our brand new redevelopment director - have been paid out of developer-funded escrow accounts.

Finally, the city has already received a $1 million contribution from Asbury Partners for affordable housing and community development elsewhere in the city, and another $1 million will arrive in April.

Coming next: So when will the shovels really begin to fly?