Looks like a bad case of finger pointing to me...

[ForumManager]

And someone else is taken to task for a $700 discrepancy?
What is wrong with this picture?

[yfdgricker]

Patton: For Chevy Centre, I had a verbal commitment

The legislator said the center money 'wasn't on my radar screen.'

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — Outgoing state Rep. Sylvester D. Patton Jr. said he never submitted a written request to the Ohio Department of Development seeking funding from the state's capital budget for the Chevrolet Centre.

Patton, of Youngstown, D-60th, said he had a verbal commitment from Lt. Gov. Bruce Johnson, the head of the department of development, to give $5 million over three capital budgets to the city.

The money was to be used to help offset a portion of the money the city borrowed to complete the center's construction.

The state provided $2 million to the center in the 2005 capital budget, but included nothing for it in the 2007 proposed capital budget, released Tuesday.

Patton said Wednesday he is looking for documentation to back up the verbal commitment but hasn't been able to find any paperwork.

Patton acknowledged that he didn't submit a proposal for the $2 million by the August deadline because he believed that money would automatically be included in this capital budget as part of the $5 million deal.

"In hindsight, I should have checked to see if it was in the budget," he said. "... This was a very, very busy, busy election year and the capital bill wasn't on anyone's radar. ... It wasn't on my radar screen."

While Patton wasn't running for office this year, he actively campaigned for a number of candidates.

A member of the House Finance and Appropriations Committee, Patton said he had no reason to believe the state wouldn't give the $2 million to the city.

The verbal agreement also called for the state through its 2009 capital budget to provide $1 million to Chevrolet Centre, which is owned by the city of Youngstown.

"A promise was made to do it this way and it won't happen right now," Patton said.

Taft's response

When asked Wednesday about the deal with Youngstown, outgoing Gov. Bob Taft said, "I'm afraid I don't know about that. I know there was money in the last capital bill" for the center. Taft said he would have his staff look into the matter.

Tim Keen, the state's budget director, also said he wasn't aware of any such deal.

Johnson could not be reached to comment.

Mayor Jay Williams said he's disappointed the money isn't in this capital budget, particularly because that state made a commitment to provide more than the $2 million in 2005 to the center.

"I hope this is money delayed and not money denied," he said. "It would appear this fell through the cracks, but it would have to be a pretty big crack for $2 million to fall through."

Youngstown Finance Director David Bozanich said he had several conversations with Patton over the summer about the $2 million.

The two-year, $1.8 billion capital bill was unveiled Tuesday by the Ohio House. Patton said the House is expected to vote on the budget next week and then it moves quickly to the Senate for approval.

Patton said it could be possible to obtain perhaps $1 million for the center, but he is highly doubtful it would happen.

If the offer was extended, Patton said the $1 million would probably come from the $2.75 million in the capital budget for a third phase of the Youngstown Business Incubator project. But he ruled out taking that money from the incubator for the center.

Still hopeful

Even though Patton is highly doubtful any money from the proposed capital bill will go to the center, Bozanich is "not willing to accept that the state reneged on this" and holds out hope the city can still get money from this capital budget.

Williams and Bozanich said they are hopeful that money in the 2009 capital budget would be made available for the center, particularly because Gov.-elect Ted Strickland, a Lisbon Democrat, is very familiar with the project.

The state provided $2 million from the capital budget in 2005 through an appropriation to the Ohio Board of Regents.

The board gave the money to Youngstown State University as part of a 20-year agreement with the city that calls for the school to use the center six times a year at a discounted cost for student activity such as graduations. To date, YSU hasn't used the center for any events.

The state has provided about 15 percent of the total cost of constructing sports and entertainment facilities to other cities, including Akron, in the past, Williams said.

"I'd like to be treated fairly by the state based on past precedent and the importance of this project," he said.

The city borrowed $11.9 million in September 2005 to help pay a portion of the center's construction. The center's total construction cost was about $45 million.

The city planned to use the $2 million this year and the $1 million in 2009 from the state to reduce its debt. (The $2 million provided by the state in 2005 went directly to the center's construction cost and is not included in the $11.9 million.)

The 2005 loan came with an interest rate of 6.7 percent. The city paid half of the $767,000 annual debt on the loan, with Global Entertainment Corp., the company managing the center, paying the other half.

The city was able to reduce the interest rate this past September to 6.3 percent and cut its annual debt on the loan to $755,650. Global is guaranteeing $600,000 to the city for the center's second fiscal year that began in October.

skolnick@vindy.com