As you can see here:
“The Board of Mayor and Alderman has pledged that revenue from the tax increase will be used to fund the $20 million center’s construction”.
This “pledge”, many would have thought is fulfilled. This is not so. We are going to keep these taxes up and fund everything we can. Of course this will be at the expense of our atm or “market” , otherwise known as tax payers. It is high time to rid ourselves of this burden.
As we are told here in May 19 1992 Times-News:
“There is a cost involved, but there is a return on that investment” “The return is commercial and industrial development and jobs that will make Kingsport a “more viable economic center” and the catalyst for that development is the conference center”
How many Restaurants have closed around this “catalyst”? Lets now look at the numbers in detail. You can decide if the above has happened.
Let look now at some numbers given and what they are today for MeadowView:
“The cost to support the operations of the convention center has required a subsidy. That is, revenues generated from the center have not been enough to pay for the cost of its operations. However, this is changing, and the subsidy will continue to go down. Current subsidies are less than initially projected.
For example, the subsidy for center operations was approximately $650,000 in 1998 but is projected by Marriott to be only $400,000 in FY 2000″
We are paying today $1,233,500. This is a far cry from the year 2000 when stated ”subsidy will continue to go down” With no change in site.
Payment record here
Future outlook here
I think its time we sell this to get it off our “market’s” or tax payers back. It clearly is not what was sold to us, and clearly isn’t living up to the numbers.
Related posts:
It’s past time to put that money pit on the open market, maybe we can get Valarie Joh to list it?
Great idea!