It's showtime

For the Palm Beach commission and Scripps the biotech firm. For over two years a dance has been going on as our local and state politicans wood Scripps to set up shop here in Palm Beach County.

The deal all may come crashing down today. Scripps and our County commission can't agree on a minimum job requirement and a cap amount for liability f0r Scripps. A county commission vote will take place and it don't look good at the moment.

I haven't blogged much on Scripps. My own stance is simple- Taxpayer money shouldn't be used to influence industry or people to move to a locale. Let them come on their own. Who is paying for this after all? The taxpayers of Florida. To get Scripps here the price tag is in the hundreds of millions. Can anyone tell me any tangible benefit? I say let the markets determine where companies want to build. They will go where it is best suited for them. If its not Palm Beach County, Scripps should move on.

Open Post- Bright & Early, Third World County, Adam's Web,

Time's up.

At 10:30 a.m. today, county commissioners will decide the fate of Scripps' future in Palm Beach County.

On the eve of the big vote, and with Scripps' "best and final offer" on the table, the likelihood of finding a compromise appeared slim Monday; the deal's only chance of survival now rests with seven elected officials.

No one could predict how commissioners will handle the pressure — and the possibility of losing a world-renowned biotech research institute.

Today's "vote is about whether they stay or whether they go," said Commissioner Karen Marcus. "That'll be up to us."

Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday swiftly rejected a last-minute request for help Monday from Commissioner Burt Aaronson, the county's lead negotiator. Aaronson wrote to Bush Monday morning asking the state to reimburse the county up to $100 million for the construction of Scripps' Florida headquarters at Florida Atlantic University, should the institute leave early.

"The idea that because they haven't been able to figure out where they want their facility to be located, we then accept their financial requirements is just not going to happen," Bush said. "We've made some suggestions and I know some others have made some suggestions, and I hope that they can reach some consensus tomorrow and move on."

Aaronson called Bush's comments "completely off base."

"I think that the county commission has done everything that they possibly could," he said, pointing to the county's selection of homes: First Mecca Farms, then its offer of Florida Research Park twice and most recently a 4-3 vote for a split north county site.

Aaronson said he'll ask Scripps today for more time to negotiate a contract that would let its Florida campus be divided between Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter and the Briger tract in Palm Beach Gardens.

Scripps Chief Operating Officer Doug Bingham, who didn't return calls for comment Monday, has called today's deadline "very real" and said the institute would begin looking at sites throughout the state if the counterproposal wasn't acceptable.

If that's still the case, Aaronson said, he would suggest commissioners "exercise our right and stay on the Mecca property."

Bingham has said that Mecca is no longer an option because too much uncertainty remains with the 1,919-acre former orange grove.

Last year, environmental groups successfully challenged a permit the Army Corps of Engineers issued for Mecca Farms. A judge's order in November allowed construction of the institute's headquarters to continue at Mecca, but essentially nothing else. The county asked Scripps to stop construction until a full environmental review is complete. A revised application was submitted to the corps recently.

Stalling efforts to move Scripps to FAU/Briger is a dispute over who should assume the lion's share of the risk under the contract. The county has said Scripps should be held legally liable if it doesn't meet job goals or leaves the county before the end of the contract term. Scripps has said it can't risk its California institute, or its endowment, on the Florida venture.

On Monday, County Administrator Bob Weisman said he won't recommend Scripps' counteroffer, which caps Scripps Florida's liability at $5 million and cuts its annual job requirement to 409.

Weisman and staff members issued a three-page analysis outlining six "major issues" with the institute's proposal, including:

• Liability: Scripps' California institute would not be held liable for any default. Scripps Florida's liability would be limited to $5 million, which would be held in an escrow account; its interest in the FAU/Briger site; and 15 percent of Scripps Florida's royalties, but only if Scripps leaves the county. Scripps representatives have said $5 million is a significant concession for a nonprofit institute that relies heavily on grants and donations that can be spent only certain ways.

• Jobs: Reduces Scripps' annual job requirement from 545 to 409. If Scripps' staff fell below 409 one year, Scripps would have two years to make up the difference and could reach out to other scientific organizations that want to use the space to help bring its numbers back up. After that two-year period, the county could receive a $500,000 payment from the escrow account. But each year Scripps had 545 or more employees, the institute could withdraw $500,000 from the account for its use in Florida. Scripps has said it isn't trying to to get around its commitment to provide jobs, but it's difficult for businesses to guarantee their employment levels over time.

• Material default: Scripps could terminate the contract and sue the county for damages if the county didn't deliver the Briger tract, or an alternative site with 1.6 million square feet of space, by Feb. 6, 2011. The county also would be at fault if it didn't get its biotech cluster plan approved by the Scripps Florida Funding Corp. Scripps has said it's a "deal breaker" if the county won't contractually commit to the cluster.

Commission Chairman Tony Masilotti said he wouldn't support Scripps' proposal.

"Some of the issues that are outstanding need a little bit more attention," he said.

"The one thing I'm looking for is for the residents to be made whole" on the taxpayers' investment, Masilotti said. "Right now, I'm not comfortable."

Commissioners Addie Greene and Warren Newell said they want to hear from Scripps officials, expected at today's meeting, before deciding how to vote.