CINCINNATI, OH (FOX19) -
While the City Administration's $92 million dollar
parking lease has yet to gain the official green light from council, the
question of how to spend the potential windfall remains equally unresolved.
If council adopts the Administration's recommendation,
nearly $47 million would be set aside to help balance the city's 2014
and 2015 fiscal year budgets.
"We need to think about the
health of the city long term until 2043 not just how we can get through next
year and the year after that," Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld emphasized Wednesday.
While the parking lease would
last 30 years, in just two years roughly 93% of the upfront cash would
be spent.
"I'm not sure that's the
financial stewardship that people are looking for," argued Sittenfeld.
On the other hand, $6.3 million would be added to the
city's reserve account to bring the account to the goal of eight percent
savings.
"That helps our bond rating tremendously, makes it
easier for us to borrow," Councilman Cecil Thomas argued.
The Administration's spending proposal also includes
funneling $20 million towards the I-71 MLK interchange. According to a
spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation, if council approves the
funding the project could receive an additional 20 points on its TRAC rating
potentially fast-tracking the project. Currently the city's $4 million investment in the project is not enough under the TRAC formula to garner any
community investment points. The project's total budget is estimated at $60
million although a revised budget is expected to be announced at the end of the
month.
Another project that would see funding under the
Administration's plan is Smale Riverfront Park. The park would receive $4
million in investments to build the Vine Street Fountain and the carousel
before the 2015 All-Star Game.
In addition, the City Manager is proposing spending
$12 million to leverage and additional $82 Million dollars in private
investments to convert Tower Place mall into a multi-use parking and retail
facility. The Pogues Gargage would be transformed into a 30 story mixed-use
residential space with 300 luxury apartments and a grocery store on the
ground floor.
Three million would be set aside for Right-of-Way
acquisition for the development of the Wasson Lane bike trail.
Sittenfeld is concerned the scope of the recommended
projects is too geographically narrow. The city says 12 neighborhoods would be
directly impacted by the proposed funding.
"That means 40 neighborhoods
weren't mentioned at all," Sittenfeld said. "Downtown has experienced a lot of
momentum; we need to pivot that to the rest of the city."
"Uptown and downtown are the
lifelines of our city," Thomas argued.
Cecil Thomas believes
investing in those areas will have the biggest, farthest-reaching payoff
long-term.
"It would be great if we had
enough money to just spend in every neighborhood when we chose to but we
don't," he recognized. "We do have a mechanism by which we can generate revenue
which can then reach into some of these other neighborhoods."
Most council members
told FOX19 they are waiting on the public hearings to decide where they
stand on the proposed spending plan for the $92 million that would come from
the parking lease.
Copyright 2013 WXIX. All rights reserved.
FOX19-WXIX
