C I T Y C O U N C I L C H A M B E R S - City of Youngstown

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CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 7, 2004 OF THE CONVOCATION CENTER. IT’S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MY COLLEAGUES, MOST OF THEM WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CONVOCATION CENTER, HOWEVER, ALL I’M HEARING FROM RADIO TALK SHOWS AND I’M LISTENING TO YOU ON THE TALK SHOWS TOO, IS THAT WE’RE GOING TO REDIRECT THAT MONEY AND CLEAN UP YOUNGSTOWN. ONE OF THE THINGS IS I THINK OUR COLLEAGUES ARE LOOKING AT WE NEED TO HAVE A CONVOCATION CENTER BECAUSE AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THERE ARE MORE PERMANENT AND PART-TIME JOBS AT THAT THAN IT WOULD BE ANYTHING ELSE. BUT MAYBE YOU COULD ENLIGHTEN US MAYOR. THANK YOU”. MAYOR McKELVEY: (INAUDIBLE) MR. FORTUNE: “GO AHEAD MAYOR, IS THERE A MICROPHONE DOWN THERE FOR THE MAYOR?” MAYOR McKELVEY: “BUDGETARY RESTRAINTS. . . YOU TRIED TO TAKE AWAY THE MAYOR’S VOICE. NO POWER. COUNCILMAN GILLAM THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND IT’S VERY UNDERSTANDABLE AND I APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP BECAUSE AS THE FIRST WARD COUNCILMAN IT’S YOUR WARD THAT WILL BE MOST SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED BY THE FUTURE DECISIONS OF THIS FUNDING. THERE’S ONE DYNAMIC THAT’S OCCURRING ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL WHICH I BELIEVE ALL COUNCIL PERSONS ARE AWARE OF, AND THAT IS THE SENATORS FOR OHIO, SENATORS VOINOVICH AND DeWINE ARE SPONSORING AN AMENDMENT TO THE EXISTING E.D.I. GRANT LANGUAGE TO ALLOW COUNCIL THE FLEXIBILITY TO USE THE MONEY FOR A MULTIPLE PURPOSES, THE PROPOSED LANGUAGE IS FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OR REVITALIZATION EFFORTS IN THE RENEWAL COMMUNITY ZONE, WHICH WOULD MOVE COUNCIL AWAY FROM BEING A PROJECT SPECIFIC GRANT TO ALLOWING THEM TO TRY TO ACCOMPLISH A NUMBER OF OBJECTIVES. THEY HAVE REPEATEDLY STATED PUBLICLY THAT THEY WILL PASS THAT LEGISLATION IN THE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS BILL TO THE OMINOUS APPROPRIATIONS BILL WHICH GOES THROUGH IN JANUARY AND THE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS BILL I BELIEVE ANTICIPATED IN FEBRUARY OF ’04 OF THIS YEAR. THEY CONTINUE TO SAY THAT AGAIN THEY SUPPORT THE FLEXIBILITY BUT THEY CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE DECISION MAKING POWER TO REMAIN LOCAL, THEY WILL NOT MAKE A DECISION ON HOW THE CITY OF YOUNGSTOWN WILL SPEND THE MONEY. THAT REMAINS A LOCAL DECISION BUT THEY FELT THAT THE CITY WOULD WELCOME THE FLEXIBILITY ON THE FUNDING. MY GOAL, MY STATED GOAL AT THIS POINT IN TIME AND I WOULD HOPE COUNCIL WOULD SHARE THAT BUT ULTIMATELY THIS DECISION WILL BE MADE BY THE MAJORITY OF COUNCIL, IS TO TRY AND ACCOMPLISH THE GOAL OF BUILDING NOT ONLY A CONVOCATION CENTER IN THIS COMMUNITY OR SUPPORTING A CONVOCATION CENTER PROJECT IN THE COMMUNITY, 8 OF 14
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY 7, 2004 AND ALSO ACCOMPLISHING THE GOALS THAT I BELIEVE YOU’D LIKE TO ACCOMPLISH ON WEST FEDERAL STREET AND DO SOME ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS WITH THE MONEY FOR JOB CREATION ALSO. ON THAT TRACK BECAUSE THE, AND I’M SURE THE IMPRESSION IS FAIR BUT I HAVE TO CORRECT IT IS A MISIMPRESSION AND I ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT, IN TERMS OF TRYING TO DEVELOP A CONVOCATION CENTER THAT INITIATIVE HASN’T STOPPED. YOU ARE ALL AWARE THAT FROM THE BEGINNING WE ATTEMPTED TO LURE PRIVATE CAPITAL TO DEVELOP A CONVOCATION CENTER AS A PRIVATE PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP. WE HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL IN DOING THAT. WE CONTINUE TO HEAR THAT THESE THINGS ARE PRIMARILY BUILT BY PUBLIC ENTITIES THAT THEY’RE NOT INVESTED IN BY PRIVATE ENTITIES AND THAT’S BEING BORN OUT IN THE EXPERIENCE THAT’S OCCURRING IN TOLEDO, OHIO, MASSILLON WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL, ERIE, PA. THEIRS IS ON HOLD ETCETERA SO IN THAT REGARD, WHAT WE’RE ATTEMPTING TO DO THROUGH DIALOGUE WITH SOME OF THE INITIAL INTERESTED PARTIES COUNCILMAN, IS TO SEE IF THEY CAN SECURE NON-RECOURSE TO THE CITY, PRIVATE FINANCING IF IN FACT FROM DIFFERENT GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL, IF IN FACT WE COULD INFUSE SAY FIVE, SIX OR SEVEN MILLION DOLLARS INTO THE PROJECT COULD THEY SECURE NON-RECOURSE FINANCING TO THE PROJECT WHICH DOES NOT THEN EVER THREATEN THE GENERAL FUND OF THE CITY OF YOUNGSTOWN. THEY ARE GOING TO GET BACK I BELIEVE IN THE NEAR FUTURE WITH THE FINANCE DIRECTOR DAVID BOZANICH TO LET HIM KNOW HOW SUCCESSFUL THEY’VE BEEN AND WHAT LEVEL OF DEBT THEY BELIEVE THEY COULD FINANCE NON- RECOURSE FOR A FACILITY OF THAT NATURE. IF WE COULD ACCOMPLISH THAT WE THEN BELIEVE WE THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SEED MONEY FOR A CONVOCATION CENTER AND ALSO DO SOME OF THESE OTHER PROJECTS IN TERMS OF THE WEST FEDERAL STREET REHABILITATION PROJECTS AND SOME ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN THE CITY OF YOUNGSTOWN. THAT IS ABOUT AS, I COULD GET MORE SPECIFIC BUT THAT’S ABOUT THE TRACK THAT THINGS ARE GOING ON NOW. ONE IS THE SENATORS INITIATIVE THE OTHER IS AN ONGOING DIALOGUE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH THAT OBJECTIVE AND TALKS ARE GOING ON TO TRY AND SEE IF WE CAN MAKE THAT HAPPEN”. MR. FORTUNE: “MR. GILLAM”. MR. GILLAM: “THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. CHAIRMAN AND MAYOR. THAT DATE THAT YOU HAVE OF FEBRUARY 4 TH I’M TOLD BY THE CONGRESSMAN AT THE EARLIEST IT WOULD BE, WOULD BE IN MARCH. AND AS I UNDERSTAND THERE WAS NOT AN EXTENSION FROM THE CONGRESSMAN, HE TOLD US THAT WE WERE NOT EXTENDED AS FAR AS HAVING A TIME LIMIT. SO THAT TELLS ME THAT THE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS CONVOCATION CENTER IS VERY NARROW AND GETTING CLOSER BY THE DAY. ALSO . . . 9 OF 14
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C I T Y C O U N C I L C H A M B E R S - City of Youngstown

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