CITY GETS TOUGH IN ARENA DEAL : NO TAXPAYER DOLLARS FOR SITE, COUNCIL SAYS.Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer With concerns about the financial risks facing the city, the Los Angeles City Council  The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States. on Friday instructed negotiators to take a tough
position to guarantee no loss of tax dollars in the construction of a
downtown sports-entertainment complex.
The council instructed its negotiators to return to the bargaining table with Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). owner Edward Roski and Denver investor Philip Anschutz Philip Frederick Anschutz (born 28 December 1939 in Russell, Kansas) is an American businessman and supporter of Christian causes. With an estimated current net worth of around $7.8 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 31st richest person in the USA. to seek a guarantee of $7 million a year to pay the city's costs to cover a $70 million bond issue. ``The council has come around to making sure there is no risk of tax dollars,'' said Councilman Joel Wachs Joel Wachs served for several terms as Los Angeles City Councilman for the 2nd district. He was first elected by defeating incumbent James B. Potter. While in office, Wachs chaired the Public Works Committee and vice-chair of the Environmental Quality & Waste Management , who has been a leading critic of the proposal but supported the new negotiating stance. ``Anywhere there is a point of city risk, we have taken a tough stand.'' Under the plan, the developers would build a 20,000-seat, $240 million arena on the North Hall site of the Los Angeles Convention Center The Los Angeles Convention Center (abbreviated LACC) is a convention center in downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, and was best known to video games fans as host to E3 until its cessation in 2006. . The city would tear down the building and also acquire land across the street for parking and, in the future, a hotel-commercial complex. Negotiations have bogged down in recent weeks with council objections over some of the terms of the contract, and the developers have begun new talks with Inglewood officials about remaining in there. Representatives of the developers did not return telephone calls. The council voted 10-2 to adopt the instructions, with Councilmen Nate Holden Nathaniel "Nate" R. Holden (1929-) served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1987 to 2002. He previously served a term on the California State Senate and was Assistant Chief Deputy to then Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn. and Mike Hernandez dissenting. Holden said his objections remained the same over his concern there were loopholes that would allow the developers to leave the city liable for all costs. Hernandez said he was concerned about the lack of written commitments to hire local residents for jobs that paid more than minimum wage. ``There is no documentation except for a verbal promise,'' Hernandez said. ``If this is to benefit anyone, it should benefit the people who live there.'' Representatives of the developer have said they would develop a training program for those in the area to provide jobs beyond those traditionally associated with a sporting venue. Wachs said his concern is over making sure the city does not have to pay any money to cover the costs of the bond. While the owners have agreed to some type of facility charge to guarantee the city $3.5 million a year, Wachs said he and the council voted to seek a commitment to pay the city its full annual costs. ``We can't go by projections,'' Wachs said. ``A lot of what they are projecting is a sellout sellout The distribution of all the securities in a new issue by the selling group. every night. Well, (Thursday) night the Kings only drew 9,200 people.'' Wachs said the council also wanted to be absolved of any responsibility in any toxic cleanup, whether the city was liable or not. A draft agreement obtained by the Daily News last week would have the city cleaning up any toxic material for which it was responsible. Council President John Ferraro John Ferraro (May 14 1924—April 17 2001) served as a Los Angeles City Councilman from 1966 until his death. Early life Ferraro was born in the working class suburb of Cudahy, California, just south of Los Angeles. said he hoped a final memorandum is drafted by next week. Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas Mark Ridley-Thomas (born 1954) is currently a California State Senate where he chairs the Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee]]. He represents the 26th district which includes the communities of Vermont Knolls, Jefferson Park, Leimert Park, Hancock Park, Korean said he was hopeful an agreement could come as early as next Tuesday. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion