By Roldo Bartimole
Does this make any sense? Or do we have the same pay-to-play game today that we’re seeing exposed in the Akron trial.
You figure it:
Cuyahoga County taxpayers are ponying up some $800-million dollars in sales tax revenue for a new convention center and medical mart. We’ll be paying for 20 years at about $40 million a year.
Despite this heavy public investment, here’s what Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson’s administration wants to do right next door on East 6th & St. Clair streets from the $800-million public investment:
With cooperation of Cleveland City Council, Jackson wants to give a $1 million low interest loan to the renovators for a Westin hotel. It’s a redo of the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM AN $800-MILLION PUBLIC INVESTMENT!
WHY? WHY? WHY?
And the terms are sweet for the hotel developers — Sage Hospitality.
The $1 million loan commands no payment on principal during the construction period. The loan will be for 15 years and the interest rate a mere 3 percent. No payments will be required until the hotel is occupied. How nice for them.
And the city will also FORGIVE $200,000 after three years if there are 185 jobs on the site.
How would you like a $200,000 gift from Jackson?
Does it make sense? Taxpayers spend $800-million in public funds to draw visitors to our town and then lend $1 million to developers who are in the best location to take advantage of those subsidized visitors?
What sense does this make?
And there’s more.
The city will sweeten the $1-million with a TIF (Tax Incremental Financing) deal. That means other aspects of this private project will be subsidized with tax money — property taxes will be diverted from supposedly strapped government entities to the hotel project.
For how long? Thirty years — that’s a 30-year property tax gift.
The TIF cost to the public: $6,569,741. It will be used to pay off Port Authority bonds — another government subsidy — and other needs.
When do the gifts stop?
It suggests to me that Mayor Frank Jackson’s City Hall is really Tax Give-Away Headquarters. All without much thought. That, of course, is a trademark at Jackson’s City Hall.
Does the $1 million gift come with a promise from the hotel to have a $10 an hour wage scale for its low-wage workers? Does the city want ANYTHING for its generosity? Do they ever even think of such demands?
This is the beginning of the new era of massive public subsidy of downtown interests. Doubling down on huge public investments. Wealthy developers on the dole.
Why will we be subsidizing hotels when spending huge amounts of public dollars to bring them customers? Isn’t that enough?
It comes at a time when we see clearly how these developers, contractors and gimmie artists have worked public officials for FAVORS, FAVORS, FAVORS.
The parade of chiselers in the trial of Jimmy Dimora, Frank Russo and other ex-County officials should teach us that we have to keep the gimme guys away from the guys who control public money. They have a tendency to give it away.
In addition, downtown Councilman Joe Cimperman wants to allow the Westin to run a walkway from the hotel to the convention center. Right across E. 6th Street, a block from historic City Hall. And in what is supposed to be a historic city district from the turn of the last Century.
You mean people can’t walk across the street? Do we have to enable visitors to not walk on our streets?
Cimperman, long-time downtown councilman, has been resting in that political limbo for years. He has had strong ambitions to higher office but he’s stalled in that rats hole called City Council.
He knows really well that campaign funds come from those developers and hustlers that look to City Hall for certain gratifications and favors.
His colleague Jeff Johnson, himself on an ambition trail, rightly opposes the walkway blemish on E. 6th Street. The Plain Dealer noted that Johnson “clearly irked” Cimperman.
The PD quoted Cimperman, who must be getting haughtier these days, saying, “There will be open minds here. I hope you also will be able to explain why this is critical. This is a huge deal. We’re thrilled you’re doing this.”
Nothing like praising people for taking your money.
The desire to link the hotel at E. 6th and St. Clair to the city’s convention center is nothing new. However, no one has been so brazen as to propose an above ground walkway.
Some decades ago when big Jim Carney was Democratic boss he wanted an underground walk from the hotel, which he then owned, to the convention center. That never got done, likely because going under E. 6th street would demand too much costly trouble with utilities beneath the street.
For Cimperman to now broach going across above the street really is disgusting.
But what the hell it could mean a lot to the Councilman’s next campaign fundraiser.
Wouldn’t a Cimperman fund-raiser be good in a subsidized refinished downtown hotel?
Roldo Bartimole celebrates 50 years of news reporting this year. He published and wrote Point of View, a newsletter about Cleveland, for 32 years. He worked for the Plain Dealer and Wall Street Journal in the 1960s.He was a 2004 Cleveland Journalism Hall of Fame recipient and won the national Joe Callaway Award for Civic Courage in 1991. [Photo by Todd Bartimole.]
3 Responses to “ROLDO: Continuing Our Corrupt Culture”
sandy malne
Roldo I usually agree with your articles but I have to speak out that I like the idea of the Westin doing a reface of Crowne Plaza and the 3% interest is better than most investments are getting. The $200,00.00 incentive to have 185 workers makes sense because it encourages employment which in turn generates cash flow in our town. Commercial funds are tough to get right now. If we want to continue to see this project into the future funding is going to be needed. As for the walk way from the hotel to the convention center well I am all for it. People are lazy and Cleveland weather can be a little rough. We need to step up and go forward. I like your work Roldo but I can’t take your side on this one.
Ian Hoffman
@Sandy I think the point is, the Westin would be seeting up shop right were they are even without Jackson’s subsidies. What hotel wouldn’t want a site adjacent to the new convention center? It’s not like Beachwood or Avon Lake is a viable alternative. So, it’s great that the Westin will employ people in Cleveland, but the $7m giveaway (not $200k) of current city funds and future tax revenues is not the reason those jobs will exist, it’s the convention center itself.
Roldo Bartimole
I believe this is only the beginning of the hotel give-aways.
Next will come what they’ll call a convention hotel – something over
400 rooms, which will likely demand full tax abatement for an
extended period, as the Marriott got for 20 years, full 100 percent
abatement.
And there needs to be a Cleveland Citizen Action group (and I don’t mean
the toothless do-nothing Citizen’s League) that will watch in particular
the Cleveland school administration building. It now is likely the most
valuable piece of Cleveland downtown property, located right next to
the new convention center. Developers will be drulling for this
historic site.
As to Sandy, there was no reason to give any subsidies to the hotel.
Where is the free enterprise we supposedly cherish.
Roldo