Legislators split on convention center

By DAVID HULSE

MONTICELLO — Concord developer Louis Capelli couldn’t make a special meeting of the Legislature’s Executive Committee and he was probably better off missing it.

With Steven Kurlander’s Florida delegation absent, eight remaining Sullivan County legislators seemed to split right down the middle in their positions at the session.

Considering some basic legal problems, they did agree on one thing unanimously, Leni Binder (D-7) said. “The project is not viable as presented. It’s illegal because it’s not up for public bidding and the county can’t fund anything without open bidding,” she added.

Another issue is Capelli’s bright forecast of new county revenues from increased room taxes. “Many, if not most, of the convention center users would be tax exempt. They wouldn’t be paying room taxes anyway,” Binder said.

Despite her reservations, Binder did not list herself as an opponent. She disagreed on the long-term implications of the legislators’ current positions, saying the vote will be more like 6-2 in favor. She sees the split as fixable, possibly with some property concessions on Capelli’s part, and perhaps the intercession of the county’s Industrial Development Agency as the sponsor of the bonds.

Chris Cunningham (DC-1) and Kathy LaBuda (D-2) have expressed adamant opposition to public funding for the project.

But some believe Rodney Gaebel (RC-5) and Jodi Goodman (RC-6) might consider bonding, divorced from the politics of a legislative action.

Goodman sounded tough in her own comments. “I believe there is something to be said for [a convention center], but I’m not willing to sacrifice taxpayer dollars and our existing hotels for one developer.”

She said a center like the one Capelli proposes would not open the county’s convention market to larger groups requiring more room space. “If there’s no spill-over, what’s the point?” she asked.

While she said she was willing to listen, she said she would not be held hostage. “He thinks we’re desperate. I’m not,” Goodman said.

Chairman Rusty Pomeroy (D-3) disagreed with the legal issues. “It’s absolutely legal to do it. Broome County, Saratoga Springs, it’s been done all around,” he said.

“People who have taken positions now have done so without all the facts,” he said.

Pomeroy said bidding is not an issue. “If we build it, we bid it,” he said.

The center would be built to a practical needs size, Pomeroy said, rather than to over-build and wind up leaving it unused much of the year.

He said the center would aid other hotels. “Some convention groups are not going to want to pay four-star hotel room rates. They’re going to go to other hotels and those hotels are going to be able to book the center.”