LANSING – A revised bill intended to retain the North American International Auto Show by extending regional taxes to support the expansion and modernization of Cobo Center won final approval of the Legislature early Friday, completing a tortured path of a proposal that again exposed deep schisms in the metro Detroit area.
This time, new Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is promising he has the votes in city council to approve the agreement (the council derailed the earlier agreement) and Oakland County Executive Brooks Patterson supports the new version.
Key differences are that Cobo would be handed over to a five-member regional convention authority under a 30-year lease, rather than a sale, and contract and hiring preferences would be for workers and businesses throughout the three-county region, not just Detroit, a provision to be guided by the “best efforts” of an eight-member citizens advisory council.
The contract provisions were key for suburban interests; the lease was key for city council members who criticized the first plan’s sale of Cobo to the authority for $20 million, arguing it shortchanged the city. Under the lease, the convention center goes back under the city’s control at the end of the lease but the regional authority would pay $20 million for that lease.
The new version explicitly gives the mayor veto power over any action by the city council, something that was attempted by former Mayor Ken Cockrel Jr. only to be shot down in the courts as improper.
It also gives the council 30 days to decide whether to approve the lease.
If Detroit officials don’t approve the lease, then Oakland County would receive the extended tax revenues to facilitate expansion or construction of convention space to accommodate the auto show. The bill does not spell out that money would go to Rock Financial Showplace, which Republicans had been designating as the alternative location.
But Rep. Bert Johnson (D-Highland Park), one of the lead negotiators on the bill, said, “Plan A (Cobo Center) has always been the plan. Everyone is embracing that plan.”
Bishop in late afternoon had questioned whether a deal could be reached, with a version at the time not setting a deadline for the regional authority to take control. He said it is imperative for the Cobo expansion to get underway by fall so it can be ready for the 2011 auto show.
He also said the language to re-direct tax revenue to an Oakland County facility if Detroit were to reject the new arrangement was so ambiguous as to make it unlikely a back-up Michigan venue could quickly be established to keep the auto show in the state.
Later in the day he said, “I’m glad a deal is done. A number of legislators stood up and took part in the process. We had local government leaders, legislators and lots of people involved. We were made aware of the concerns of the city and we were able to address them. We’ve got a plan that will keep the auto show here, and that was the important thing.”
House Speaker Andy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) said it is important for the city council to act quickly on approving the lease and he said the chance of having to go to a “plan b” was “very, very remote.”
Patterson, in an interview earlier in the day on WJR, praised Bing’s role in working out a bill acceptable to most parties. “Dave Bing is using his influence and powers to move this legislation,” he said.
The bills (HB 4998 , SB 586 , SB 587 and SB 588 ) sailed through the Senate with the only dissenting vote coming from Sen. Glenn Anderson (D-Westland).
The road in the House was a bit bumpier, with 14 to 17 dissenting votes.
Rep. Coleman Young Jr. (D-Detroit), was one of a few Detroit lawmakers to oppose the bills, arguing, “I can’t give away a job on a hope. I need to know without a shadow of a doubt I am bringing home jobs to my people (with this deal).”
This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com
a>>
