Thursday, May 04, 2000
Officials again OK $2M for road lid
Judge called for revote by county commissioners
By Dan Klepal
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The do-over is done.
Hamilton County commissioners voted 2-1 Wednesday in favor of awarding a $2 million grant to the city of Cincinnati to help pay for the foundation of a three-block covering atop the new Fort Washington Way.
The commissioners held the exact same vote, with the same result, three months ago.
But Cincinnati attorney Tim Mara sued commissioners after the Feb. 2 vote, alleging they had agreed to make the contribution in a closed-door session two days before.
A judge asked commissioners to revote, after open debate and public comment.
The pilings are needed for a deck that will partially cover the roadway and connect downtown to the riverfront, allowing people to easily walk to restaurants, shops or sports stadiums on the river.
Installing the pilings while the roadway was already torn up will save about $14 million. It will cost another $46 million to build the deck and landscape it with trees and grass in about five years.
Tom Humes, a member of the Riverfront Advisers, which has drawn up The Banks development proposal for the land between the two stadiums, said the deck over Fort Washington Way is the cornerstone of the plan.
Commissioner John Dowlin voted against the proposal, as he did three months ago. Mr. Dowlin said Fort Washington Way is a city project and paying for the deck should be the city's responsibility.
“The Banks is a wonderful plan. The question is: Where does the funding come from?” Mr. Dowlin said. “We do not normally put economic development money into any municipality.”
Commissioner Tom Neyer said that, while that's true, this money will help make the county's development along the river more valuable.
The cost of all the pilings is more than $10 million. The city received a $2 million pledge from downtown business leaders and will contribute $6 million of its own money.
There are several other points unresolved in Mr. Mara's lawsuit, including arguments that the county has no right to guarantee the Bengals a minimum number of ticket sales.
Mr. Mara has also asked the court to instruct commissioners not to hold improper closed sessions in the future.
“The process is at least as important as the end result,” Mr. Mara said. “One day's worth of honest dealing with the public isn't enough.”
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