A careful reading of “7 Year Plan: Martin: It’s crunch time for Lancaster County Convention Center” in the Intelligencer Journal New Era raises many questions, the answers to which are not to be found in the article.
Below are excerpts from the article with our comments:
INTELL: “Lancaster County Commissioner Scott Martin presented an agreement Friday that he called ‘a seven-year bridge’ for the county convention center… Martin said he put together a deal that will provide seven years of revenues for seven years of expenditures and create a solid base to keep the convention center going.”
NEWSLANC: What is at the other end of the “seven-year bridge”? The interest rate was only to be for seven year term. Does the full guarantee of the bonds by the County extend beyond seven years? If so, what leverage will the county and the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority (LCCCA) have for negotiating the interest rate with Wells Fargo when the seven-year term expires?
INTELL: “Martin said he is confident county taxpayers will never have to pay any part of that guarantee.
“That’s because the deal includes sending all revenue from the county’s 3.9 percent hotel tax to the convention center authority through at least 2016 — and possibly until June 30, 2019, if needed to cover interest and principal on the center’s debt.”
NEWSLANC: Won’t eliminating funding from the hotel sales for the tourist bureau negatively impact the marketing of not only the Convention Center but all of the tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants?
INTELL: “Penn Square Partners also would be required to forgive $50,000 per year or $700,000 in total debt owed by the authority and allow the authority to provide concession services at the facility — valued at $50,000 annually — for seven years.”
NEWSLANC: Concerning the $700,000 debt owed, the newspapers and High brought the cost overruns on themselves through the papering over the funding deficit for the convention center.
Despite having only one electric meter for both the hotel and center, missing escalators between both properties, capture of the $3 million that hitherto had been promised to the Lancaster Public Library for it expansion and renovation, and several other sleights of hand, the $700,000 deficit remained. Does decency minimally require the debt be forgiven?
NEWSLANC: As for the $50,000 annual reduction in concession fees, it should have been at least $350,000 annually which represents the difference between the paltry 5% Penn Square Partners pays in concession fees and a industry norm of between 25% and 30%.
INTELL: “Provide funds for its continued maintenance with $5 million for that purpose from Lancaster’s City Revitalization and Improvement Zone Authority between 2014 and 2020.”
NEWSLANC: As a banker recently said to us, CRIZ is the “dumbest idea yet.”
What it basically does is steal future tax revenue that would otherwise go to our children’s generation to pay their expenses for use by special interests today. Shame on Senator Lloyd Smucker and all those who have promoted and supported this CRIZ scam.
Not providing in the budget adequate reserves for major repairs and renovation was part of this great Lanacaster swindle. If moral justice were to be, should several of Lancaster’s most esteemed citizens be in prison? Can one be considered a philanthropist if one donates a pinch but grasps a bundle? Is conniving to deceive the public for massive self gain only technically different from outright theft?
INTELL: “[Mayor Rick] Gray praised Martin for his work on the agreement.
“He did a tremendous job for the county and the city through this whole negotiation,” the mayor said..
NEWSLANC: Provided that the county guarantee is only for the seven year extension of the bond funding or there are other adequate safeguards in place, this would be a relatively rare time that we agree with Mayor Gray.
Incidentally, the more we reflect on the damage first done to the Lancaster community to create this ill conceived project and the additional funds now and in the future being diverted to maintain the ‘white elephant’, the angrier we become. We expect little of Dale High. But it certainly is time for the city appointees on the LCCCA board that rammed the project through and the Lancaster Newspapers, Inc. to publicly apologize.
Let’s not hold our breath waiting for a public apology from anybody involved in this fiasco. PSP/LNP are making untold profits off of the backs of Lancaster County taxpayers, which was their intent all along.
While I agree that there should be some sort of legal consequence placed upon those that initiated this travesty, I’m confident that there is no Judge in Lancaster County that would be willing to impose such a consequence. The privileged get special privileges.
Some thoughts on this “deal”…
-To answer a question that you raise, I cannot imagine that the new County guarantee expires after 7 years or 70 years for that matter. The County guarantee lasts until ALL the bonds are paid in full. The CC is the gift that just keeps on giving. As to what happens to the interest rate after 7 years…who knows?
-I am torn as to whether or not I think this deal is good. The question as to what happens after 7 years goes to the core of Martin’s baseless claim of not allowing it to fall to County taxpayers. He may be able to assure this claim while he serves as a commissioner, but there is no way he can do so long term. As much as I don’t want to pay for it, no one will ever be held accountable UNTIL the taxpayer of Lancaster County is paying directly…trust me we are all paying indirectly already.
When we pay directly, at least there will be a public demand for accountability against those who pushed this through and those who allowed those to push it through. The paper will be seen as what it truly is, not our partner, but the ministry of propaganda for PSP. Dick Shellenberger and Molly Henderson, unlikely bi-partisan partners, will be seen as the voice of reason, not the heretics that LNP tried to make them. Folks like Gib Armstrong, John Barley, Paul Thibault, Charlie Smithgall, Rick Gray, 98% of City Council will be seen as bought and paid for by the power elite. Dale High, Rufus Fulton, Jack Buckwalter (RIP)/The Steinman’s, the people behind PSP, will be seen as the modern day robber barons that they are with respect to this project.
-While I do not believe that the intent of the original backers was to open a casino, a casino is the ONLY possible way for the building to generate what it needs to generate. Of course, that does not take into account the social costs, etc., it just feeds the white elephant. Persoanlly, I dont care. Open it. There may come a time when a casino is no longer a winning proposition, even for the house. We should cut to the chase and do it now. PSP will laugh all the way to the bank and we wont be talking about the Martin Plan or bond payments any more.
“NEW SHOOTER – COMIN’ OUT!”