NEW BEDFORD -- The city government should not rush redeveloping the proposed Oceanarium site without consulting extensively with the public, members of a waterfront business group told the City Council recently.

"It needs a public process. Don't jump into this thing," Gene Soccolich, an adviser to the Port of New Bedford Business Alliance, said last week.

The comments from the business group, which wants to maintain a "working" waterfront, came as council members from the Appointments and Briefing Committee mulled how best to redevelop the defunct NStar generation site.

The 26-acre harborfront parcel was the intended home of the Oceanarium, a $65-million aquarium, until the U.S. Treasury Department decided in May against issuing $27 million in tax credits to help finance the project.

Mr. Soccolich said the administration of Mayor Frederick M. Kalisz Jr. is holding the land in the hope that, if Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry is elected president, he will steer federal funds toward the Oceanarium.

"If we have a new president, that's not going to be on the top of his list," Mr. Soccolich said.

Instead of fixating on massive government-sponsored redevelopment projects, Mr. Soccolich suggested the city should rely more on the private sector.

But, he said, there are obstacles. Before any business could buy the NStar site, the Legislature would have to amend the 1998 law deregulating the utilities industry. The bill restricted NStar to selling the land to an educational, nonprofit organization.

Mr. Soccolich said the site could hold a center designed to help launch fledgling marine science companies, a resolution center for offshore legal conflicts or even a hall to showcase waterfront industries. Nearby universities and marine centers like Woods Hole, the University of Rhode Island, Harvard or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology could be enlisted in the effort, he said.

Even more dock space could give a boost to the fishing industry, he said.

"This is the most viable piece of real estate the city has," Kevin Rocha, the vice chairman of the Harbor Development Commission, told the councilors. "Bring in the right people before the decision is made."

During his remarks, Mr. Rocha said the city should consider creating a port authority capable of sustaining long-term development plans.

Standard-Times staff writer Ray Henry can be e-mailed at rhenry@s-t.com

This story appeared on Page A4 of The Standard-Times on August 2, 2004.