Your Opinion: Council asked to consider alternative proposal

Dear Editor:

The conference center is in the news. We are so close yet so far away. The two proposals may be rejected. Costs to taxpayers might be too high.

Would $14 million or $15 million make a difference? Perhaps. These are the two figures quoted for hotel construction.

Do the taxpayers need to fund the hotel? Perhaps not. Proposal three included on already-existing hotel. This proposal arrived too late. Perhaps this approach might need to be considered.

We could create a new RFP. The new RFP could specify a taxpayer-funded conference center with a developer-funded hotel. The $14 million or $15 million saved might make the project affordable. This could eliminate the need for ongoing City of Jefferson subsidies.

Some people prefer a downtown location. This could be possible with my proposed RFP. The developer could purchase an existing downtown hotel. The developer could fund a new downtown hotel. Either way, the taxpayers could save enough money to make the difference between a conference center or no conference center.

Some people have criticized the City Council for moving too slowly. Perhaps they are to be commended. They appear to be being very careful with taxpayer dollars.

I urge the City Council to seriously consider a developer-funded hotel in their new RFP.