I received a response from a City Councilmember who wanted to correct me on some of my points about the financial bottomless pit that is the ShoWare Center.
The councilmember pointed out that Moody’s had upgraded the city’s financial score after having downgraded the city’s financial health twice. Point taken. Our rating is still not stellar. Also, the city is seeking repairs on the ice plant from the original contractor. Good.
He went on to explain the council’s bottom line for continuing to subsidize ShoWare to the tune of at least $500,000 (and as high as $750,000) of our tax dollars each year for many years to come: 1, the contract with the Thunderbirds that would be costly to cancel and 2, the mortgage on the building.
I’m not a lawyer, but there are always legal options when a person, company or city has unsustainable debt. Is the cost to cancel the Thunderbirds more than $500,000 or more than a million – but less than half a million a year for the next decade? Couldn’t the city sell the building to help pay off the mortgage? What’s the cost/benefit analysis on these or other options that would stop the bleeding?
The idea of digging oneself further and further into debt doesn’t seem wise. How hard have the city attorneys worked to propose a new plan to get taxpayers out from under this situation? It may not be a pretty solution or one that downtown businesses would like, but a viable one that gets ShoWare off the books sooner rather than later.
I’m not anti-business as some have suggested, but it’s naive to ignore the Chamber of Commerce’s influence on city officials. Taxpayers have no influence even remotely as persuasive. We have the vote and the press – and three minutes to speak in front of the council each month.
The rationale that it’s terrific to have our own city arena in spite of the cost is irresponsible. The original City Councilmembers who voted for this albatross did not look very hard at the statistics for ventures like this for a city our size and the prospective draw from outlying areas. Some advisor along the way must have advised the council about the very real financial risks.
Recessions and depressions are consistent events in our financial history. Why did those council members not use history as a guide or a caution? Why are current councilmembers going along with this fiasco today? All the talk is about why we should support this yearly half-million-dollar deficit and set money aside to fund it. Crazy talk.
City government cannot let civic pride overrule common sense. How much of the taxpayers’ money is too much just to keep this vain endeavor going on for decades? The building will age and need additional revenue for upkeep. SMG is owed money for loans it extended to the city to keep Kent stuck on stupid.
This facility may never be profitable.
The attendance records have never supported the idea that there were enough people consistently interested in spending their money at ShoWare events.
It’s like polo: not many people can afford to participate and the rest just aren’t interested.
– Sandra Gill
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