07/17/2006

Parking deck is getting cheaper

As vote looms, price drops; some call it a political move

BY VANESSA MCCRAY

vmccray@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — The city's projected cost for a West Front Street public parking deck continues to drop as the date of a city referendum on the funding draws near.

Residents will vote Aug. 8 on a city bond issue of up to $16 million primarily to pay for a parking ramp in a 100-foot-tall, mixed use development by Federated Properties. But city manager Richard Lewis will present new information to the city commission at its 7 p.m. meeting tonight that shows the project might cost $12.9 million.

"That is one of the exciting things about the information that will be shared with the city commissioners on Monday night," said Peter Schmitz, chairman of the Downtown Development Authority and spokesman for a campaign to support the bond issue.

But some project critics suspect the price-reduction is a "political" move timed three weeks before the vote.

"It is kind of a shell game, shifting things around to make it look better, more palatable to the people," said former city commissioner Ann Rogers.

"Whether you look at the $16 million or the $13 million (it is) being used to supplement the construction for some developer," city resident John Burgess said.

A contract agreed to in February by the city and developer calls for the city's cost to be finalized once 30 percent of the design is completed. That information will be ready July 28, but Lewis said current data indicates a lower amount.

"The fact that numbers are changing in a project of this magnitude is very typical," Schmitz said. "You usually put together a plan with a conservative number early in the process and you work it down."

Lewis dismissed talk that the city lowered the numbers to sway voters.

"That's fine. They can say whatever they want to say. This is where it's at," he said.

The $16 million bond issue was always a "worst-case scenario," Lewis said. In April, he announced the "most likely" bond issue amount was $14.65 million, a plan that cut out streetscape work, utility burial and a foot bridge over the Boardman River.

The city's latest financial information shows the project would cost $12.9 million for 529 public parking spots. The city could also add 39 more spaces for $1 million or less.

The cheaper figure is the result of a number of factors, Lewis said. Recently awarded state funds for environmental clean-up reduced the city's bill by $417,354. The amount of space to be purchased by the city dropped by about 11,000-square feet, which also lowers the city's share to purchase land. Construction cost was trimmed by nearly $1 million.

Projections show the city could pay off a $12.9 million bond and interest by 2027, leaving a more than $2 million balance in the tax increment financing district.

Rogers said the information "has been put out there now to help pass the thing."

Said Lewis: "I am not trying to convince the people... (I) try to get the information out there so people can make an informed decision."

Tonight's meeting will also feature a "3-D model presentation" by the developer showing new views of the proposed project.