Convention Center Funding: Tourist taxes top concern

[thelakelander]

By LIZ FLAISIG,
The Times-Union

Nine months of discussing the potential for expanding convention center business in Jacksonville concluded last month with a task force consensus that the city's share of the industry should grow.

In a meeting of its steering committee Tuesday, a new recommendation from members rose to the top.

Tourist development taxes being used to pay off the Prime Osborn Convention Center should continue to be used for convention business.

Member Mark Wood told the group it must urge city leaders to protect the bed tax money by including it in the final report.

Task force Chairman M.G. Orender agreed. "If that money isn't protected we've wasted our time," Orender said.

Bed tax money last year raised $15.6 million, of which $5.2 million went to pay down the Prime Osborn's debt. That debt will be retired in 2009.

If the city leveraged a bond issue today with $5.2 million, it would yield $50 million to $70 million, the report's executive summary draft said.

With that in mind, the task force draft report focuses on the short-term options of expanding and renovating the Prime Osborn or building convention center space next to the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront hotel.

A "big picture" option of a long-term convention center at 500,000 square feet with 200,000 square feet of exhibit space was also discussed.

The task force chose not to recommend a site from the eight it began with because funding won't be available for several years, Orender said.

"It's better to leave the decision to city officials and staff, to leave them that flexibility," he said.

Had the city been prepared to take immediate action, Orender said the task force would have chosen a site.

The Convention Center Task Force was organized in January at Mayor John Peyton's request to offer recommendations on whether the city should build a new convention center, expand the Prime Osborn or continue business with the existing facility.

The draft of the task force's final report will be sent to all members for approval before going to the Council and the mayor by the end of the month.

liz.flaisig@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4640

This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/111407/bus_217505180.shtml.

[Jason]

So yet again all of that time and effort was put forth only to be shelved.

[thelakelander]

It would have been nice to resolve this issue, especially since JTA wants to turn the Prime Osborn area into a transportation center.  All in all, I guess you could say we now know that a new center could be funded without having to raise taxes.  Mixing the existing Bed Tax in with private investment to form a Public/Private partnership could be a way to get a new, expanded or renovated center off the ground.

[Jason]

I think that fact was known long ago.  What would be nice is to see the city move forward with the suggestions of any of the thousands of studies it has conducted.

[thelakelander]

Yeah, that's the unfortunate part.  We can study with the best of them.  Maybe we need another study to see how to move forward and then one after that on how to implement the "move forward" study results?

[Ocklawaha]

Yeah, that's the unfortunate part.  We can study with the best of them.  Maybe we need another study to see how to move forward and then one after that on how to implement the "move forward" study results?

Great idea Lake! Maybe we should study it!

Ocklawaha

[vicupstate]

Some of the Bed Tax goes to pay for the original re-construction of the Stadium-formerly-know-as-Alltel.  Seeing as how that was done in like 1995 or so, those bonds might be paying off before too many years as well.  I don't know where that info. could be verified, but it may result in a stream of money to devote to something.

Member Mark Wood told the group it must urge city leaders to protect the bed tax money by including it in the final report.

Task force Chairman M.G. Orender agreed. "If that money isn't protected we've wasted our time," Orender said.

While I certainly agree about the bed tax money, I think this has already been a waste of time.  If history is a guide, it will probably be 3-4 years before this issue is seriously raised again.  By that time, these results will be considered too old, and the powers that be will call for yet another 'study'.

If the money/political will wasn't there to do something(knowing no alternative was cheap), they should have keep the issue on ice.    However, the REAL reason for this was to pacify the pro-convention center folks until after the city elections.  By that standard, it worked quite well.       

[Jason]

Great point Vic.  Studies are a great way to shut people up by saying "We're working on it, these things take time."