Roads, Sewers, and Baseball

City roads, sewers to get upgrades
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/news/local/16713853.htm

From the article:

"Most of the residents in attendance, however, did not come to discuss road improvements. They came to discuss the mayor’s $125 million Harrison Square proposal and downtown in general. The public-private project includes a new hotel, new shopping, new condominiums and a city-owned baseball stadium.

Richard said he was happy to get one company bid to build a third hotel downtown and estimated it would be a $48 million investment. Tax revenue off the hotel will help finance the public portion of the rest of the project.

Several residents expressed skepticism at the need for a new baseball stadium, a recurring theme from people attending the mayor’s speeches. One resident said Fort Wayne does not support baseball in the way other cities do because it is a hockey town.

Richard said the new owners of the Fort Wayne Wizards do not believe Memorial Stadium on Coliseum Boulevard is suitable for the growth of the franchise. Richard said this means either spending up to $12 million of public money refurbishing the existing stadium or working to create a catalyst project for downtown. He added that the proposal only uses tax money specifically designated for development.

“Your local property taxes will not go up because of this project,” he said."