City ponders consultant to review convention center sites

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Another step in trying to get a convention center for Jefferson City looks to take place “in the next few days” according to Nathan Nickolaus, interim city administrator and city attorney.

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During a city council work session Monday night, Nickolaus said they want to get a consultant to look at which of the two proposed sites, one at Broadway and W. McCarty Street and the other at the old Missouri State Prison site, would be best for the city, based on a business model.

The plan is to try and show which site could best to draw conventions and visitors, in other words, which site would have the best return from investing in it.

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rodinman 1 year, 5 months ago

Numerous "consultants" have advised city officials of the best location and size for a convention center. There is none; if there was one private business would have built it years ago. Let the dinosaur die.

Sequoia 1 year, 5 months ago

I hope this doesn't become some kind of "World's Largest Ball of Twine," something that you build and no one comes. I've seen a lot of consultant studies that cost a lot of money, then sit on a shelf. The city has a lot of other opportunities for infrastructure investment. I hope the city knows what it is doing...

Sequoia 1 year, 4 months ago

City Council: Do you think your convention center consultants will consult you about this article?

city-journal.org/2012/22_1_snd-convention-centers.html

Sequoia 1 year, 4 months ago

"The convention business has been waning for years. Back in 2007, before the current economic slowdown, a report from Destination Marketing Association International was already calling it a “buyer’s market.” It has only worsened since. In 2010, conventions and meetings drew just 86 million attendees, down from 126 million ten years earlier. Meantime, available convention space has steadily increased to 70 million square feet, up from 40 million 20 years ago."

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

How many consultants does the city need to hire before someone uses plain ol' common sense to see that most citizens are AGAINST using tax dollars to build a convention center? This city has wasted so many dollars on consultants. Do not waste any more tax dollars on consutants!

We are in a severe depressed economy. People in this town are taxed way too much already. Wages have not increased for most people over the past ten years. However, gasoline prices have doubled. Insurance premiums have doubled. Food prices have skyrocketed. Utility costs have gone way up. SAY "NO" to any more taxes.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 5 months ago

I think we should offer our services. JCLifer, evenkeel, wyriontair, Sequoia, Graceful, hkchas, whoever else wants in, and myself. We could easily provide as much useful advice as a bunch of outsiders. We could even offer the city a break on the price - say ten percent under the next lowest bidder. We just have to figure out a creative way for the city to tell the Chamber of Commerce to go pack sand.

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

Good idea. The city also needs to take back that quarter of a million dollars of our tax money (or whatever it is these days) away from the Chamber of Commerce and tell them to pay for their own galas from now on.

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 5 months ago

That's another good idea. We should contract for ten percent of whatever we save the city. This could add up, if we can keep hkchas from stabbing us in the back - he'd probably offer to do it for nine percent.

Sequoia 1 year, 5 months ago

Monorail! Monorail! MONORAIL!

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

How much to dig the mud tunnel? I can round up some illegals with shovels...

RobHunterJohnson 1 year, 5 months ago

I thought back in 1993 the Developer was going to build them a Convention Center, over in North Jefferson City? We are missing the boat? The amount of traffic that goes through Jefferson City to the Lake, maybe then they would stop and stay an evening or so. Right now we are lucky to get them for Gas, Fast Food, of a Traffic ticket for speeding? Look at Booneville all the bad things just never came to fruition. I have never been a Casino, but I am smart enough to understand; We missed the Boat and our Convention Center! Rob

hudson 1 year, 5 months ago

I feel sorry for our childern and grand childern who will be footing the bill for all this goverment ! Federal , State , county , city !

JCsleeper 1 year, 5 months ago

They hire consultants because they don't know what they are doing and want someone to blame if it all goes sour. They have consulted this matter to death. Get over it and let it die a quiet death. The last survey reflected disapproval. Take it out of the Transformation or better yet, take out the transformation. Cash cow in this area has dried up. Most folks around here haven't had a raise since who knows when.

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

They should call it the "Ruination Plan" instead of the Transformation Plan. The only thing that plan would do is transform our town into a debt town like Moberly.

A casino would have been the best thing we could have done, and we let that one float up the river. Boonville has made out like a bandit with all the money flowing into their town, and absolutely none of the horror stories all the opponents made up to scare the voters never came true.

NoMoBigBro 1 year, 5 months ago

Oh, it'll be great to have a convention center! Imagine the advertising....come to Jeff City for your convention! And when you aren't conventioning you can...uh...you can...you can walk across a bridge and look at a river!!! Woot woot!!

wow 1 year, 5 months ago

What do ya know, JC leaders are still think about paying for their very own MAMTEK.....

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

Why do they think the answer is always bigger and more expensive government, with higher taxes to pay for it all? Let private investors build this. If it is such a good opportunity, the Chamber should have no problem getting its members and other investors to put up the financing for this project and do it all with private money.

wow 1 year, 5 months ago

Where does "bigger and more expensive government" come from? That's not what the council is asking for. They are pretty much demanding that the "tax payers" foot the bill for this project.

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

I am talking about more taxes, more government operation, more expenses, more liabilities being thrust upon the taxpayers.

rodinman 1 year, 5 months ago

Taxes are how governments are funded. The chamber of commerce can not tax the citizens -- the government can. Therefore any tax increase equals a bigger and more expensive government.

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

The Chamber is a private entity. Why does the city feel the need to increase our taxes and continue paying public monies to a private entity?

How do we know if the interests of the Chamber, the City Hall, and the Taxpayers are all aligned?

Gotigers 1 year, 5 months ago

I think the fact that John Q. Hammons, who builds convention centers for a living, refused to build one because it wouldn't work--speaks volumes. If this was a vialbe project then builders would have approached us. Why would we listen to a consultant?

wcywing 1 year, 5 months ago

why build a convention center, there is nothing for visitors to do once they leave the building. maybe if there was a casino here, oops. maybe they can drive to adrians island. heh

JCLifer 1 year, 5 months ago

They can go look at the statues down by the capitol. They need to get there before dark, since many of the spotlights that light them up are already burned out and the state is too broke to fix anything.

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