Tuesday, June 15, 1999
Center project stymies council
Convention expansion turns shaky
BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
After four hours of testimony, questions and debate, Cincinnati City Council members came close to voting on a city hotel tax increase to help expand the downtown convention center.
But by the end of Monday's joint meeting of council's Community Development and Finance committees, there was no vote and no clear consensus about the hotel tax increase or any funding strategy for the project.
More than anything, the meeting showcased the fragile state of the convention center expansion project, once rated by city council as the city's single most important development project.
“I'm a little bit confused as to where we stand as a council as to the underlying issue of whether to advance forward,” said council member Todd Portune, who introduced a motion to increase the city hotel tax but withdrew it to give colleagues time to get questions answered. “It appears the whole issue of whether to improve (the center) at all is up in the air.”
Back in February, seven council members stood on a stage and embraced the project. That was before specific funding plans surfaced on how to pay the estimated $350 million to $405 million cost of more than doubling the size of the Dr. Albert B. Sabin Cincinnati Convention Center.
While the expansion project has been the subject of count less meetings and discussions for nearly a decade, Monday's meeting was the first time a majority of council has discussed it openly with proponents and critics of the plan.
Community Development Committee Chairman Phil Heimlich even invited a leading national critic of such expansions — Heywood Sanders, a professor of urban studies at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.
Mr. Sanders questioned the very foundation of the study that recommended the expansion, saying such studies always recommend that cities build new centers or expand them and that such projects generally fall short of the economic impact those studies promise.
“This makes essentially what we're doing here look like a shambles,” said Councilman Jim Tarbell after Mr. Sanders spoke.
Later in the meeting, Teresa Reiss, a consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, which wrote the study in question, argued that Cincinnati has a lot going for it that those other cities do not — such as plenty of hotel rooms and restaurants near the center.
Mr. Heimlich suggested that council hold a public hearing to discuss the project in greater detail and give citizens a chance to voice their opinions.
Finance Committee Chairwoman Minette Cooper argued that because it was council's first open discussion of the project, it would be irresponsible to vote on any part of any funding plan.
Council member Jeanette Cissell acknowledged that Mr. Sanders “threw (her) a curve” but said council can't afford to wait on the project.
“We don't have time to sit back and come up with every way to defeat this,” she said. “The problem is the political backlash. If not for the political backlash, who would argue against raising the hotel tax or a restaurant tax?”
But when Mr. Portune's motion came up, she said she needed more time to study the question of raising the hotel tax and said she might be prepared to vote Wednesday, when Mr. Portune likely will bring up the idea again.
The city hotel tax increase — which hotels support — is just one small piece of the complex funding plan. A 1.5 percentage point increase would generate an estimated $1.2 million a year, which would pay off about $18 million in bonds for the project.
Project critic Chris Finney, former chairman of Hamilton County's Tax Levy Review Committee, questioned the need to raise that tax before the rest of the funding puzzle is in place.
But Mr. Portune argued that the city, which owns the convention center, should take the lead on the project and show the state, county and business community that council views the project as important.
He described the whole process as “a game of chicken” and said the city should make the first move.
Councilman Tyrone Yates said that move should be tied to a quick commitment of $20 million from downtown businesses. But consultant Dennis Wojtanowski, who has been working to forge a funding plan, said private businesses are looking for support from the city.
“Any funding plan by definition is fragile. This has always been fragile,” Mr. Wojtanowski said after the meeting. “The bottom line is: This is a process. Vote counting is about creating comfort levels, and that requires a lot of work in the process.”
Monday's meeting made it clear there still is work to be done before proponents of the expansion will be able to count to five — the number of council members they need to pass anything.
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