Cincinnati City Council members aren't taking seriously the threat that the city's failure to meet a Dec. 15 deadline would kill the Bengals stadium project.
Councilwoman Bobbie Sterne, chair of the Community Development Committee that's been handling riverfront development issues, said she thinks it's ''highly unlikely'' the project would die if the city fails to transfer riverfront land to the county by Dec. 15.
Councilman Phil Heimlich put it this way: ''To threaten us with the demise of a project which has turned out to be a pretty bad deal, to me, is not much of a threat.''
Hamilton County officials are exasperated by the attitude - expressed this week by City Manager John Shirey - that the deadline is meaningless.
County Commission President Bob Bedinghaus said the county needs the city to transfer its interests in the land by Dec. 15 because the county must complete negotiations with produce companies that lease the land from the city.
''This project has inched forward from the very beginning, and it has been driven by deadlines from the very beginning,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said. ''We at the county have been very careful to make sure people have understood those deadlines.''
Mrs. Sterne said the city must resolve several other issues before proceeding with its own riverfront development plans.
''There's no point in the city just transferring the land without knowing what it is we are able to do on the riverfront,'' she said.
Mr. Shirey on Tuesday proposed a city-county agreement where the city would transfer its land by Dec. 31 if a number of requirements were met. Among those was the county contributing $14 million toward the $120.5 million overhaul of Fort Washington Way.
County Commissioner John Dowlin has referred to those requirements as ''an attempt at extortion.'' County commissioners have scheduled a closed meeting Sunday to discuss the disagreements.
County officials have amended their deal with the Bengals to get the city's land. That was one of the city's requirements, but Mr. Shirey said the changes didn't fix the problem. County officials argue that other issues should be worked out later.
Councilman Todd Portune leans that way, too.
He said the city must resolve its concerns about the Bengals lease before transfering its land. City leaders have worried that the lease gives the team too much control over the riverfront.
''But I think we need to be careful about throwing too many things into the pot,'' he said. ''I don't think it's appropriate to negotiate other issues in connection with the lease and land transfer.''
