Hamilton County has hired HMS Partners, the Columbus ad agency that developed the stadium tax strategy, to handle public relations for the new Bengals stadium.
Brooke Hill, former staff director for Cincinnati Mayor Roxanne Qualls, will handle the job locally with some advice from Columbus, said David Milenthal, chairman of HMS Partners.
The agency has been working since late October without a contract, and county officials could not say this week how much it will amount to. They expect to sign a contract in January, said Teri Nau, executive assistant county administrator.
Ms. Hill will answer media questions, create a Web site, announce milestones as the project moves forward and organize events such as groundbreakings, Mr. Milenthal said.
''Someone needs to stay focused on the positive,'' he said. ''There are a lot of positive aspects as to why these (stadium) projects are the cornerstone of Hamilton County's future, and it's incumbent on us to tell that story.''
Recent public anger over the rising stadium cost and other issues are ''perfectly natural,'' Mr. Milenthal said, adding, ''It's what happens in the end that matters.''
Ms. Hill said she had been talking with County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus about the job since early this year. She sees her job as supplying information.
''It's the people of Cincinnati's project, and they need to know what's going on,'' she said.
Ms. Hill also will function as a sort of ''truth squad.'' A recent fax Ms. Hill sent to the Enquirer contained a critique of a Cincinnati Magazine article on stadium costs. Ms. Hill said the critique was written by a Bengals employee.
County Auditor Dusty Rhodes called the public relations people ''a fire wall between elected officials and the media.'' He said it makes him uneasy.
''I think we could do very nicely without all that,'' Mr. Rhodes said. ''Unless they feel they're going to be in a defensive mode all the way through'' the project.
Asked whether Ms. Hill will insulate the commissioners from the media, Mr. Bedinghaus said he was offended.
''I have never ducked a tough question about this project,'' he said. ''That this would somehow be construed as someone to take arrows for us is ridiculous.''
A public relations consultant was envisioned as part of the county's Aug. 25 contract with Getz Ventures, which is managing the Bengals stadium project on behalf of commissioners. Norm Getz hired HMS Partners, which hired Ms. Hill.
Although the agreement with HMS Partners is open-ended, both Mr. Bedinghaus and Ms. Hill said they believe it will last for the three years of Bengals stadium construction.
The project is expected to break ground March 1 and open for the Bengals' 2000 season. The stadium is funded by a half-cent county sales tax voters approved in March 1996. HMS Partners worked on the campaign and devised a strategy to pass the tax.
