Harrison Square test votes at hand
Project hinges on public financing decision
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/fortwayne/17085797.htm
From the article:
"Fort Wayne Deputy Mayor Mark Becker said final details of the $125 million public-private project should be completed by this afternoon. He said memorandums of understanding – a type of preliminary contract – are expected to be presented to the Fort Wayne Redevelopment Commission today and then to the City Council on Tuesday evening."
"City officials will make a detailed presentation to the council’s finance committee, which is chaired by City Councilman Tom Smith, R-1st. All nine members of the council sit on the committee. The council members will then discuss the issue and could take a preliminary vote Tuesday night."
"At the council presentation, city officials also plan to give the findings of a study that examined potential uses for Memorial Stadium on Coliseum Boulevard. An initial downtown study determined there wouldn’t be any use for the existing stadium, but city and county officials have been examining what could be done if the ballpark moved downtown."
"No public comment period is scheduled for Tuesday and no formal public hearing has been set for the downtown project. As is typical, the council will have time for public comment April 24, but that may come after the vote on the project."
"Although the mayor said he doesn’t have a deadline for a vote on Harrison Square, he said it can’t just sit undecided for months. A public hearing could delay a decision by the council until mid-May, because the council doesn’t meet on May 8 because it’s Election Day."
Monday, April 16, 2007
Nearing A Decision
Posted by scott spaulding at 4/16/2007 08:19:00 AM
Labels: CEDIT, Graham Richard, Hardball Capital, Harrison Square, John Crawford, John Shoaff, Mark Becker, Tom Smith
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10 comments:
What a disgrace.
This administration (especially Mark Becker) should be embarassed. To present the final details and then request a vote within 24 hours is nothing short of an insult to the idea of city government.
No matter where you stand on this project there is absolutely NO WAY you should support this fast-tracking of the vote. There are citizens that would like to review the financial details and provide input to their councilmen. The very idea that something that took MONTHS to develop can be properly reviewed in ONE DAY is a farce.
The real question here is whether the city council is an independent body or a rubber stamp for the mayor and his administration. It's flat out insulting to push the citizenry out of the picture and every single council member that does so does NOT serve the interest of the people.
The mayor's office is showing it's contempt for the legislative process - let's hope the city council has a little more sense...
Sam???
Jeff,
Did you miss this part?
"They can’t formally approve the financing Tuesday because it is only a committee session of the council. The earliest the group could take a final vote on Harrison Square is April 24"
I don't see where it says that a vote would be requested within 24 hours, but maybe I'm misunderstanding what you wrote.
Jeff, I do not support significantly delaying the overall process, HOWEVER I do agree wholeheartedly with you that we should not take a preliminary committee vote tomorrow night. People like yourself and other citizens should have time to review the details and communicate with us regarding such details before any vote is taken.
I would support delaying the committee vote one week and then having both votes on 8/24. Or, I would support delaying both votes by one week (however this presents some procedural issues to work through because 5/1 is currently not scheduled for a regular session and 5/8 there is no meeting because of election.)
Sam T.
Is this another example of Mayor Richard's Lean Government? - Lean in that the taxpaying public should be told as little as possible and be given as little time to examine as government can plan ? John K.
Sam,
I would support either proposal you suggest and I appreciate your concern for the public interest...
I am quite irritated by this development as well.
I think that the initial vote should be postponed for at least one week and preferrably two. It seems to me like citizens should be allowed to review the financials for a couple of weeks prior to the initial vote at City Council.
This is exactly what I was afraid of.
I am glad to see Sam Talarico post the response that he did...
Sam was a bit offended when I told him that I expected "The City" to try to introduce Harrison Square for a vote before citizens had a chance to review the project...
It looks like I was right huh Sam?
Scott:
I think you are missing the point. We do not want the INITIAL Harrison Square vote to take place until we have a chance to review the financials of the project. Please understand the financials and details will most likly be a couple of hundred pages long...
Mike Sylvester
Mike,
I took Jeff's comment to mean that he thought the final vote would be right on the heels of the details. Of course I agree that the initial vote should be distanced from the releasing of the information.
The MOU's will be released today...in about 30 minutes actually.
Scott,
Will you be able to post the MOUs, or do you know if the City will post on its website?
Thanks.
Mark Garvin
Scott,
I was referring to the preliminary vote.
And I hope DFWB can post a copy of the MOU's as I won't be able to make the meeting...
What concerns me about the common council meeting agenda tomorrow night are the two resolutions coming from the Redevelopment commission that, if approved by council, will "lock-in" two major parts of the public financing for Harrison Square.
These are, first, resolution 2007-13 from the redevelopment commission (March 19)covering the recommended "gerrymandering" of the Apple Glen/ Jefferson Pointe TIF district to include all of the planned Harrison Square area (In 2005, council approved the last extension of this same TIF district to include a narrow strip to either side of Jefferson Blvd. from Illinois Rd. to Grand Wayne Center so that TIF income could be used for infrastructure on that project). THE ONLY REASON FOR JUSTIFICATION FOR THIS is the grenadines of this administration.
The second resolution, again from the same commission, to pledge $20 million in CEDIT proceeds to meet financial obligations incurred in the development of Harrison Square, plus a loan of an additional $6 million from future TIF revenues to the CEDIT pledge, plus $1 million of the Cumulative Capital Improvement Funds (read "City Light Sale proceeds from Indiana & Michigan Power Co.) also for the development of Harrison Square. These pledges to cover a 30 YEAR PERIOD.
Councilmen - How can you approve funding something that you haven't even voted on ???
Is this now how "Lean Law" is going to be shoved down our throats??
John K.
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