最新杏吧原创

Days鈥� bill would finally advance a $105 million bond issue 鈥� the county鈥檚 half of a project it is splitting with the city 鈥� that has been held up for months.

The county鈥檚 share of bonds for the expansion of America鈥檚 Center hit resistance late last summer in the form of a lobbying campaign against the convention center project from Clayco founder Bob Clark. Around the same time, Days held up final approval of the bonds, insisting that a north 最新杏吧原创 County recreation center plan be pulled together as part of the bond package.

The North County project was part of a 2019 deal cut with Days鈥� predecessor on the council, Hazel Erby, for her support of the America鈥檚 Center expansion. But Convention and Visitors Commission officials say they only agreed to help fund it, not design and build it.

Days has been working with Clayco and developer Larry Chapman 鈥� a former Clayco executive and longtime associate of Clark 鈥� on a preliminary cost estimate for the North County center. Under her bill, an additional $40 million in debt for the recreation center would be tacked onto the $105 million bond issue.

Jeff Rainford, a lobbyist for Clayco, said Clark is no longer fighting the convention center expansion and is working with Days to advance the rec center.

鈥淎 few of us have helped her move this project along. And by doing that we helped move the convention center along,鈥� he said.

Days, on Tuesday, appealed to other council members to support her bill.

鈥淚 ask for your assistance in moving this forward, because on April 19, it鈥檚 do or die,鈥� she said.

Some council members were concerned, though, that there aren鈥檛 enough specifics yet on the plan and asked for a committee meeting to get details such as a location and designs for the complex.

Councilman Ernie Trakas, a south 最新杏吧原创 County Republican who has long opposed the convention center expansion, said during Tuesday鈥檚 council meeting that regional tourism officials with the CVC should come back before the council to address questions about the America鈥檚 Center expansion costs amid rising prices for labor and materials.

鈥淚 have it on absolutely reliable information that the city鈥檚 half of the obligation to redo the Dome has been bid out and that in response to their (request for proposals) they got one bid that was 50% higher than the allocated cost,鈥� Trakas said Tuesday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that the amount set aside for redoing the Dome is insufficient given labor costs and supplies.鈥�

Days has not held a committee hearing on the bill with the extra bonding authority, and she implied there was a double-standard for projects in predominantly Black North County.

鈥淣ot one question up until this point has been asked about the $105 million we鈥檙e giving to (the CVC),鈥� Days said. 鈥淗owever, when I鈥檓 requesting $40 million for something that will happen in the Black community, something that will happen in the first district, all of a sudden we鈥檝e got to jump through major hoops to in order to get that done. ... That鈥檚 what you do when it comes to something in the African American community. I鈥檓 very offended by that.鈥�

Trakas shot back that he was disappointed Days would 鈥減lay the race card.鈥�

鈥淭his has nothing to do with race. This has to do with proper process and procedure,鈥� Trakas said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to approve $40 million in bonding without any idea where this facility is going to be.鈥�

One bid?

The convention center expansion, first revealed in 2018 but long delayed amid the political slog through the city and county bodies needed to approve it, could be running into cost issues after months of delay and construction cost inflation.

最新杏吧原创 has already issued its $105 million in bonds and the city鈥檚 Board of Public Service, which handles public construction projects, is bidding out the first half of the project while it waits for the county to issue its bonds. Bids on the $83 million project were originally due March 1. At some point, that date was changed, and bids for the project were scheduled to be publicly opened on March 29.

But a spokesman for Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who supports moving forward with the project, said the city couldn鈥檛 comment while bidding remains open. CVC President Kitty Ratcliffe said she couldn鈥檛 comment on an open bid in the hands of the city.

Asked about Trakas鈥� comment, Ratcliffe said in a statement that Trakas 鈥渋s mistaken in his belief that we are redoing the Dome.鈥�

Trakas, in his comments, did say 鈥淒ome,鈥� but it was during debate on bonds for the America鈥檚 Center expansion. The Dome at America鈥檚 Center is attached to America鈥檚 Center.

In an interview, Trakas wouldn鈥檛 reveal his source but maintained concerns he raised months ago that costs were quickly rising in the construction industry.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a different paradigm now with respect to construction costs both in terms of labor and materials,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his bid clearly proves that. I think the whole project needs to reviewed anew.鈥�

Days may well have the votes to move ahead with the bonding authority. And 最新杏吧原创 County Budget Director Paul Kreidler said Wednesday that he believed the county鈥檚 hotel tax fund could cover the additional $40 million in debt for the North County rec center.

The expansion was to be covered with hotel taxes in the city and county freed up after paying off the bonds issued to build the Dome, where the NFL鈥檚 Rams played. The 2019 council bill dealing with the rec center obligated the county use 35% of its unencumbered hotel taxes on the complex, and the pandemic鈥檚 hit to the revenue stream slashed that number.

But Kreidler said Days鈥� new bill would get rid of the 35% figure, making the project an obligation against the whole hotel tax fund. And annual county hotel taxes have been ticking back up, he said, up to about $9 million from a pandemic low of $5 million. They ran about $13 million pre-pandemic.

鈥淟ooking at the fund balance and the estimates for future revenue growth, I feel comfortable that the fund could handle this,鈥� Kreidler said. 鈥淚t would basically mean though that there would be no other projects against the hotel tax for about a decade. But it is possible to make those numbers work.鈥�

Nassim Benchaabane of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

Originally posted at 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, April 13.