BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS - Hamilton County stands to gain $93 million from the state's bricks-and-mortar budget for the next two years, most of which is promised for the University of Cincinnati and the new Bengals stadium.
While the largest share of the proposed $1.7 billion capital bill - $505 million - would be set aside to build and repair school buildings, lawmakers found plenty of money to finance pet projects across the state.
For instance, state Rep. Robert Schuler, R-Sycamore Township, secured $50,000 for a study of Loveland's proposed indoor bicycle track, or velodrome.
There also is $100,000 in the bill to help restore the Chisholm Historic Farmstead in Madison Township, $41,000 to renovate senior citizen housing in Waynesville and $40,000 to study a proposed bike trail in New Richmond.
The measure is pending in the House Finance Committee and is expected to be voted out to the full House on Dec. 1. Barring any disputes over the way the money would be spent, the Senate would send the measure to Gov. George Voinovich before the end of the year.
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BRICKS AND MORTAR
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Proposed capital improvement projects for Southwestern Ohio outlined in a bill introduced today in the Ohio House include:
Hamilton County
University of Cincinnati - $57 million.
Bengals stadium - $22 million.
Pauline Warfield Lewis Center consolidation - $4.3 million.
Contemporary Arts Center - $3.5 million.
Cincinnati State Community College - $1.7 million.
Lincoln Heights Health Center - $1 million.
Cincinnati Symphony - Riverbend improvements - $600,000.
Cincinnati Museum Center - $525,000.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center - $500,000.
Classical Music Hall of Fame - $300,000.
Cincinnati Jewish Community Center - $75,000.
Loveland velodrome feasibility study - $50,000.
Harrison tomb renovations - $16,000.
West Fork Park improvements - $10,000.
Clermont County
Southwest Ohio Developmental Center improvements - $780,000. Clermont County Communications Center - $250,000.
East Fork Watercraft - Parks office - $250,000.
Department of Natural Resources operations facility - $250,000.
University of Cincinnati - Clermont campus renovations - $154,181.
Clermont County Airport improvements - $100,000.
New Richmond bike trail study - $40,000.
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Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, said the sheer number of projects scattered around the state should make it easier to win support for one of his top priorities: $22 million for the riverfrontBengals stadium.
"There are a lot of people who have an interest in the capital bill," Mr. Finan said. "It has a way of picking up support on its own."
Besides the stadium money, the list of Cincinnati-area projects includes $3.5 million for a new Contemporary Arts Center downtown, $1 million to expand the Lincoln Heights Health Center and $500,000 for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center downtown.
Even though the emphasis on school construction left less money for community projects,the bill includes $600,000 to renovate the Riverbend Music Center for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and $100,000 for improvements to the Cincinnati Observatory Center in Mount Lookout.
There also is money for smaller projects, such as the velodrome study, and $75,000 to buy day-care equipment and expand a computer laboratory at the Jewish Community Center in Roselawn.
"I think we've got a real shot at being a world center of bicycle racing," Mr. Schuler said of the velodrome proposal.
Loveland Mayor Lee Skierkiewicz said the state money would be combined with $25,000 from the city to study what would be the nation's first indoor bicycle track.
Of the state's 88 counties, Hamilton would be in line for the second-largest share of the capital bill. Franklin County would get $213 million and Cuyahoga County would get $73 million.
Ohio's colleges and universities would get $547 million, including $57 million for UC and $24 million for Miami University.
UC's biggest project is $10.6 million to build the new Science and Allied Health Building at the Blue Ash campus, while Miami's share includes $4.8 million to rehabilitate Hughes Hall.
State and local correctional facilities would get about $250 million, including $6.5 million for renovations at the Lebanon Correctional Institution.
State Budget Director Paolo DeMaria told the House Finance Committee the bill's emphasis on school construction comes at a cost.
"This means that there may be more than the usual disappointment about the end result with regard to other spending areas," Mr. DeMaria said. "However, I believe the amounts provided in this bill are sufficient in all instances to adequately meet the needs of state programs and community needs."
Gov.-elect Bob Taft and legislative leaders want most of the bill used for school construction to support the state's defense of court-ordered changes in the way public schools are funded. When the Ohio Supreme Court declared the school-funding system inadequate and unconstitutional in March 1997, the decision ordered lawmakers to spend more state tax dollars to fix school buildings. A 1996 federal study determined Ohio's school buildings are the worst in the 50 states.
Lawmakers have approved more than $1 billion for school projects since a coalition of school districts sued the state in 1991, but the amount pales in comparison to the estimated need: $16.5 billion, according to the non-partisan Legislative Budget Office.
