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Today's Poll!Timeline, concept of JC conference center changing after Transformation’s defeat
‘Think outside the box’
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Jefferson City has been trying to move forward with a concrete conference center plan for decades, and the latest efforts have stalled once again.
In January, the city laid out a timeline leading to a selection of either the 200 block of West McCarty or the old Missouri State Penitentiary site by the end of June and the beginning of the design phase in July.
But that timetable is no longer looking feasible, said City Administrator Nathan Nickolaus, since conference center plans changed after Transformation failed to pass Feb. 7.
“Obviously, without the $10 million from Transformation, that budget is drastically decreased,” Nickolaus said. “It’s about half of the budget that we were looking at, which arguably was maybe even a little short then.”
A lodging tax increase was passed last year, with all funds from the 4 percent increase going toward a conference center.
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Comments
tigger2118c 1 year, 3 months ago
This town will never change and nobody wants it too. It's sad really.
Sequoia 1 year, 3 months ago
The operative word here is "for decades." Maybe decades ago, a conference center was a good idea. But in the decades since JC has been trying to make this happen, conference centers have been over-built, and organizations have stopped holding so many destination conferences.
There is no shortage of evidence on this:
americancity.org/magazine/article/unconventional-thinking/
sandiegoreader.com/news/2011/dec/14/citylights1-convention-center/
I'm starting to suspect that "Transformation" was all about this conference center. For goodness sake, Jeff City, do your homework: ALL THE DATA SHOWS THAT CONFERENCE CENTERS ARE DO NOT MAKE MONEY.
Focus on building a good city that is a nice place to live. Then we won't need to worry about trying to lure some dumb convention to town. Take the convention center out of Transformation, and it might very well pass.
tigger2118c 1 year, 3 months ago
Casino's do, but those are "evil"
JCsleeper 1 year, 3 months ago
Just let the convention center die. Build a nice community center that everyone can use. Fix the streets, sidewalks and other infrastructure. Get rid of derelict buildings. Interesting that we have a bike - pedestrian bridge, but folks that don't have transportation have to walk in the street on MO Blvd. Priorities?
Forest 1 year, 3 months ago
Funny you mentioned people having to walk in driving lanes on MO BLVD.... I almost hit a couple of pedestrians on Thursday... they were trying to get to the bus stop ---- a bus stop with an embankment behind it and no sidewalks leading to it!! After I avoided taking out one of the poor souls I couldn't help but recall my comment on the transformation article that JC needs to help people get off the roads --- both drivers and pedestrians!
And here I sit wanting to get out and enjoy the nice sunny Sunday weather. I've already driven over to the KATY trail this morning for a 5 mile walk. I would love to be able to just go out my door and enjoy another nice walk this afternoon --- but I'm not walking in the middle of the road so I'm forced to drive at least 3 miles to the nearest park, greenway parking lot or downtown. How's that for creating a "community, neighborhood feel"?
tigger2118c 1 year, 3 months ago
Funny you mention almost hitting pedestrians, I almost take one out everyday driving down west main. Instead of using the sidewalk or the new riding trail they chose to ride their bike down the street. So putting in a sidewalk really won't stop people from walking down the road.
Forest 1 year, 3 months ago
.... decided it's not worth responding to someone who confuses pedestrians with bicyclists.
tigger2118c 1 year, 3 months ago
What part of my post do I seem to confuse the two?
tonto_goldberg 1 year, 3 months ago
The whole thing. "Funny you mention almost hitting pedestrians, I almost take one out everyday driving down west main. Instead of using the sidewalk or the new riding trail they chose to ride their bike down the street. So putting in a sidewalk really won't stop people from walking down the road."
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
What's with the crazy bike markings in the middle of the street on West Main? That is so crazy- I hope out of town bicyclists don't get a false sense of security thinking they are in a "bike lane" or something. If they are going to have bike lanes, then mark them off and have bike lanes. The current bike pictures in the middle of the roadway are just plain dangerous and nitty.
Forest 1 year, 3 months ago
This is EXACTLY why the transformation sales tax went down in flames. This town has been talking about where to put a convention center for 20 years. Just 12 months ago in February 2011 the citizens approved an increase in the lodging tax from 3% to 7% that was suppose to bring in $600,000 yearly to build and support the convention center... but yet our fine leaders still do not know where they want to build the convention center or what they want the convention center to be (as evidenced by the additional funding proposed by the transformation plan).
In case you forgot about last year's lodging tax increase: connectmidmissouri.com/news/story.aspx?list=~newslistsrecent&id=579016#.T0EzsPkw-jc
Forest 1 year, 3 months ago
Note that in this article the city administrator said that $10MM is about half of the required funding. From that I conclude the city wants a $20MM convention center. A year ago (see article link above) the city was saying total funding needed was about $15MM!! That's a $5 million or 33% increase in the desired budget in just one year... JUST HOW MUCH IS THIS CONVENTION CENTER GOING TO COST?
Call me cynical but I do believe that if they would have got the Transformation Tax that would not have been enough.... The Chamber, CVB and fine city council would have just wanted more. NOTICE how the design phase has not even commenced!! They wanted $10 million MORE before even selecting the site and starting the design phase.
JCsleeper 1 year, 3 months ago
This pig's got an appetite.
TraceyT 1 year, 3 months ago
This article quotes Nicklaus as all but saying that the full amount was short, so you're completely correct that this wouldn't have been enough, and they would have been back again asking for more.
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
I don't trust that man one bit. He was in cahoots with the former city managers. just like Garner was. I don't know why we have to have a city attorney and a city manager, and give them so much power and pay them huge salaries. It just seems a way that we can have a couple of Boss Hoggs and the Mayor and Council are just figureheads to spend most of their time talking about stop signs instead of really leading this city. Meanwhile the city administrator and attorney do whatever they want and no on ever questions them and they are accountable to no one.
wow 1 year, 3 months ago
What are the leader thinking about, who are they listening to, why is there so much confusion, don't "they" the leaders, the Convention Center Supporter's, the city council, are they not listening to the people who live in the JC Community?
From what I can gather, there's a large number of people who love this area and want to see it grow into something more than just Mayberry 1962. There is a large number of people who want to see things which are currently missing in this community. Street lights and Sidewalks that connect the city/county so that pedestrians can safely walk around, enjoy themselves and get some much needed exercise. Both of these are needed much more than a Convention Center. JC Leaders are ya listening? How about repairing the roads and building safe shoulder's on them so that a person can safely pull to the side of the road to change a tire, or move over for an emergency vehicle? How about building safer Emergency Vehicle Turn Around places. How about putting street lights on Highway 50, 54, 63, 179 and these very dark and dangerous county roads/ These areas need fixing more than we need a Convention Center. How about getting a modern sewer system for the city and the county up and working? How about making sure all the more pertinent stuff is provided and then consider building an indoor/outdoor sports complex in JC. The complex would be used year round to hoist the Missouri High School Championship Sports events....generating constant revenue and bringing attention to the state capital! Once JC starts to benefit from those improvements...then we can look at a Convention Center.....perhaps by then leaders will figure out the a Convention Center is so yesterday and not something the city can benefit from. Perhaps then they may start to look at other things like increasing/improving the local parks and recreational venues. I mean there's only so many people that want to have their sporting events in places where the people are forced to tip toe through Duck Poop.
Point is....a Convention Center is the last thing this place needs right now.
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
They need to fix the street lights they have now. This town has a whole lot of street lights that do not work. I'll bet we taxpayers have to pay for these lights every month even though they are burned out. Just drive around sometime and keep a count of how many burned out street lights there are. Like everything else around here, they love to build new stuff, but they don't like to spend any time to take care of it.
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
i wish we had sidewalks in our neighborhood. That would be so nice and safer than little kids having to ride their bikes and walk in the street.
The City re-did Ellis blvd last summer and they didn't even put sidewalks along there. I see joggers and people walking along there all the time and the cars go 40 mph. There should be sidewalks all the way up Southwest Blvd, along Ellis Blvd, connecting to sidewalks on Seven Hills, and down Eastland. These all all very busy streets and lots of people walk in the streets, job, or kids on bicycles, kids walking to school, people walking their dogs in the street. Instead, they put all the sidewalks and street lights out in a remote location on Christy Lane from Riley Chevrolet by the rock quarry to 179. Now how does that make any sense?
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
Oh, and the poor wheelchair guys who buzz around up town and on the East side out in the streets. They do have sidewalks, but no ramps for their wheel chairs to get to them. The wheelchair guys have to go down the streets. I see them at night after dark. Poor guys don't even have lights. Someone is going to get hit and killed.
lynnea1 1 year, 3 months ago
If the convention center had ever been a good idea for this town, John Q Hammons or some other big time investor would have "done done the deal". The taxes need to be repealed and what money we have needs to go somewhere else. FOREST has a lot of great ideas. He should run for Mayor!
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
Lots of really good posts and ideas here. I wish we could make these comments mandatory reading at the next council meeting, chamber meeting, and young professional meeting. Perhaps they could make copies of the survey they did last year and read them into the official minutes of those meetings as well. Our so-called "leaders" need to pay attention to the taxpayers or they will just get slapped down again in the elections.
The idea of an outdoor auditorium or band shell needs to be added to the list. Riverside Park has the old outdoor stage, which is too run down, too small, and no lighting or sound system, but we need something better. We don't need anything like RiverPort Ampitheater, but a nice outdoor arena on a hillside, with a covered stage with lighting and a good sound system would be great for having plays, concerts, and even community meetings. This would not even cost nearly as much as putting up a huge building, but it could get lots of use all spring, summer, and fall for local bands, and theater groups to put on shows.
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
Oh, and our city leaders need to form some discussion groups to really discuss what the taxpayers want to see happen with our city. They need to develop a long-range plan.
Right now they jump from one crazy idea to another. Within the last three years we went through the following lists of projects that needed tax dollars to complete:
They just seem to jump here and there and don't really think through what they want or what they want to tax us for. I have a feeling that the real crummy trash contract they forced on us was a result of this reactionary knee-jerk thinking that they just went with something before really thinking it through.
We need better leaders who know how to LISTEN to the taxpayers and LEAD. They also need to know how to get grants and sponsorships and obtain other ways of funding instead of just turning to another tax increase or fee increase all the time. We need leaders who know how to make tax dollars GO FURTHER and stop wasting money like giving a bunch of police officers gas-guzzler SUVs to drive. Not every city employee needs their own personal city car to drive back and forth to work in. Just because the downtown business group wants something doesn't mean we have to jump and buy it for them.
wow 1 year, 3 months ago
JCLifer you and I agree 100% this point! The Convenyion Center is a "Waste" and the this city/county needs many other everyday accomodations instead. Street lioghts side walks, shoulders on the various roads where pedestrians can safely pull teir vehicle to change a tire or Law Enforcement can conduct business. How about some much needed safe Emergency Vehicle Turn around poinst on the local road ways? Those gravel cut throughs currently being used are very unsafe and something from the 1960's. Can't the city/county provide better......I mean these coffer's have been getting filled with taxe money intened for such updates/improvements...so whay hasn't it been happeing?
wow 1 year, 3 months ago
It was early....so please excuse myearlier post:)
JCLifer you and I agree 100% on this point! The Convention Center is a "Waste" and this city/county needs many other everyday accomodations instead. Street lioghts side walks, shoulders on the various roads where pedestrians can safely pull their vehicle over to change a tire or Law Enforcement can conduct business. How about some much needed safe Emergency Vehicle Turn around points on the local road ways too? Those gravel cut throughs currently being used are very unsafe and something from the 1960's. Can't the city/county provide better......I mean these coffer's have been getting filled with taxe money intened for such updates/improvements...so whay hasn't it been happeing?
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
Great minds think alike!
I see lots of roadwork needed. Many of our streets are cracked and crumbled and very rough. When are they ever going to resurface East Dunklin from Employment Security to Clark Avenue? That street is so rough that it probably is hard on some 4WD off-road vehicles.
JCsleeper 1 year, 3 months ago
Stadium from Myrtle to Jefferson, Lafayette from Dunklin to Mc Carty, West Edgewood from Stadium to Fairgrounds, to name a few more. Sure there are others.
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
Industrial from Dix to West McCarty.
Bald Hill Road from Clark Avenue to Eastland is very rough.
Satinwood from Cedar Hill to Stadium.
All of these streets would very much benefit from having sidewalks too. The City should focus on building sidewalks in these populated areas instead of greenway trails that are located in sparsely-populated or industrial areas. We need transformation projects that benefit CITIZENS!
RobHunterJohnson 1 year, 3 months ago
How about a nice casino? Rob
JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago
Too late, Boonville got our casino and our millions of dollars that would have gone into Jeff City coffers. Just think how much nicer the casino would be if it were in the capital city!
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