Thursday, January 28, 1999
Sabin center plan proposed
Funding might not need voters' OK
BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A new plan to pay for an expanded Albert B. Sabin Convention Center won't require a vote of the public.
Officials have developed a funding package for the $300 million-plus project, said Dave Kremp, vice president of marketing and communication for the Greater Cincinnati Convention & Visitors Bureau.
That's not to say politicians won't want to put the issue on the ballot, he said, but it won't be required in the plan to be unveiled in coming weeks.
Those glimpses into the new plan came during a lunch meeting Wednesday of the Architectural Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.
Business and political leaders say the center at Fifth and Elm, downtown, must be enlarged to compete with those in other cities. The expansion plan — with a new price tag and financing strategy — should be released soon.
Increasing the countywide hotel tax will be part of the
financing package but it can't shoulder the entire cost of the project, said Mr. Kremp and Mark McKillip, principal architect in Cincinnati's office of architecture and urban design.
A majority of Hamilton County commissioners can increase that tax without a vote of the public. Similarly, Cincinnati City Council could vote to increase the citywide restaurant tax without putting the issue on the ballot, although that option wasn't specifically mentioned Wednesday.
City Councilman Phil Heimlich, chairman of council's Community Development Committee, said in an interview that he supports the expansion and doesn't want to hamstring the project by placing conditions on it. Even so, he said, “generally, my preference is that proposals like this go first to the ballot.”
Other funding options include selling naming rights for the convention center and seeking contributions from private corporations that stand to benefit from the expansion.
Officials argue the Cincinnati convention center benefits the entire region, including Northern Kentucky, and would like to find a regional solution to the project's financing.
“I do think for it to happen it will require a regional funding solution,” Mr. Heimlich said. “It can't be like the stadiums, where we were left with the whole bill.”
Indeed, a regional task force formed to look for a regional funding mechanism to pay for new homes for the Bengals and Reds didn't go anywhere.
Ultimately, Hamilton County picked up the tab when voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase to fund the stadium project.
While commissioners certainly have the authority to increase the county sales tax again, County Commission President Tom Neyer Jr. said he doesn't expect that to happen.
“I don't think a sales tax increase is necessary, appropriate or politically feasible at this time,” he said.
The new expansion plan will have a bigger price tag than the old one, and it will recommend adding even more exhibit space than the 1995 plan called for, Mr. McKillip said.
The old plan called for more than doubling the exhibit space from 162,000 square feet to 360,000 square feet and tripling its meeting room space from 84,000 to 240,000 square feet.
This new plan will recommend another 40,000 square feet of exhibit space, Mr. McKillip said.
A corny idea to keep good little movies
Council targets gun makers
Arts campus plan hits snag on shelter
Bullet train possibilities tantalize
Mary Tyler Moore reveals her wounds
Sabin center plan proposed
N.Ky. convention center opening gala sold out
Pope renews morality plea, condemns death penalty
Teacher pulls kids into pope
Temporary bridge over Fort Washington Way
Dad has custody of tot left in trash
School vouchers director claims program sabotaged
Winter on hiatus 1 more day
Cap costs area schools millions
Grand jury to hear about shooting, wild police chase
Laser pointer curbs rejected
Miami pair plead not guilty
NKU tuition up 5.2% next year
Schools find new tax tough sell
Women of Faith share three days
Adopt a lizard, say 'I love you'
Time to get involved for a 'vision' for 12th Street
GOP's weak field is its own fault
Ambulance runs could cost insurers
Churches helping needy on 'Souper Bowl' Sunday
Colombians here check on loved ones
Design work starts on 50 at I-275
Detective's trial may turn on the word 'in'
Emergency school funds sought
Fix on way for tie-ups at Towne, 122
TRISTATE DIGEST
Woman pleads guilty in burglary
