Even as the "No-Hotel" people are out trying to gather 20,000 signatures to bring the city council's taxpayer-owned convention center hotel to a vote, the "Go-Hotel" people are gathering Wednesday in the city hall flag room to stage a pep rally for the $550 million project. If you're inclined to attend, the event starts at 11:30 a.m. at city hall, 1500 Marilla.
One disappointing aspect of what's happening right now: Assuming the "No-Hotel" people get enough signatures to require a referendum on the project, and assuming the council respects voters/taxpayers enough not to break ground on the project before a possible "no" vote, there's a 50/50 chance there will be absolutely no hotel, which would be unfortunate for the city.
My concern: We really do need a hotel at the convention center in order to attract the big conventions here. But thanks to the way Mayor Tom Leppert played his hand on this deal, voters could be facing a choice between spending $550 million on a hotel we don't want to own, or spending nothing and ensuring a hotel won't be built. The referendum language (click here to Download 0916petition.pdf and read the proposed charter amendment) seems to preclude the city from putting any seed money into a hotel deal, which is the way this deal should have been structured in the first place — a minority ownership with a real return on our investment as opposed to outright ownership with all of the associated risk.
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