Of Streetcars and Stadiums

In other local news, Cincinnati has failed to pick up any grant money for its controversial streetcar program, which is going to put a really big dent in ever seeing this thing created.

Cincinnati was hoping for a $60 million TIGER grant to help fund the first phase of the streetcar project, but Councilman Chris Bortz said it isn’t time to throw in the towel yet.

“It’s a blow to the project, but not the end of the discussion,” Bortz said. “We need to keep moving forward and work toward obtaining other grant money.”

The city is still seeking other federal and state grants to fund the project, including a request to be placed on the state capital budget list, being discussed in a public hearing Wednesday before the Hamilton County board of commissioners.

According to Bortz, the project needs $60-$70 million to get off the ground, but in the meantime the city needs to ask itself some questions.

“First, why weren’t we on the list?” Bortz said. “Was it purely a political decision? And then, are we prepared for the next round of funding? What can we do to ensure we’re in the best position to receive grant money?”

At a press conference with Mayor Mark Mallory, City Manager Milton Dohoney said that the failure to obtain TIGER funding wouldn’t affect the timeline of the project or the “nuts and bolts” of the planning process, such as route planning and environmental considerations. 

And Cincy has has far larger problems, mainly because the city's bleeding money from the stadium fund used to build Paul Brown Stadium and Great American Ballpark.  A measure to put a sales tax increase on the ballot was tossed by Hamilton County Commissioners.

Commissioner Todd Portune, who proposed the temporary sales tax increase, decided not to advance the item for a vote because he knew it would fail.

His two colleagues on the three-member board, David Pepper and Greg Hartmann, oppose the tax. Hartmann was absent from Wednesday's meeting, but said Tuesday he would have opposed it.

Commissioners would have had to vote Wednesday to put the sales tax to the May ballot. Thursday is the filing deadline for that election. Commissioners could still choose to pass a tax without a vote or could put it on the November ballot.

Commissioners must find a way to fix a deficit in the fund paying for the riverfront stadiums by the end of the year but a solution remains elusive.

After hearing from about seven speakers Wednesday - some for and some against the sales tax increase - Portune said he wouldn't rule out levying a sales tax later in the year. He thinks that's the best way to guarantee a long term solution. Commissioners need to come up with an additional $30 million or so annually in order to keep the fund in the black.

And $30 million is a lot of money to be short, especially with the streetcar program costing twice that just to get started.   Cincy's facing some serious money problems here. 

But then again a lot of places are in 2010.