So, how does the media event on 10/12/09 Impact the Seattle and King County elections being held three weeks later? Since so many media members are in it there will be a great deal of attention to this event by the media.
iPhone users, there is a YouTube link at the bottom of this post.
Featuring exclusive HD interviews with more than 35 key characters including Kevin Calabro, Sam Perkins, Brent Barry, Desmond Mason, Nick Collison, Doug Christie, Jamal Crawford, Aaron Brooks, James Donaldson, Slade Gorton, Paul Lawrence, Brad Keller, Tom Carr and Chris Van Dyk.
Let's recap David Stern's position, and observation of the two meaningful facts, arena+Steve Ballmer=Sonics 2.0 The fans will show up in Seattle to watch THEIR team, they did, they will again, or at lease some of the 1.2 million people expected to move into the Seattle metropolitan area over the next ten years will (isn't that roughly the size of the Oklahoma City media market?). Showing up, or not, to a meaningless preseason game between the hated Portland Trailblazers (you miss being hated, don't ya) and the Phoenix Suns (the home and away, back to back games with GP facing Jason Kidd were epic contests set in the dead of Winter). Show up, don't, it does not matter to the Sonics chances. The Blazers would get more respect if they just showed up at Green Lake and played there for an hour, a preseason grab for fans - not so much.
From Steve Kelley's Seattle Times column are three things everybody should hold in their heads when when others around you are imagineering a different picture of the Sonics rising again.
"The next step is really the right putative owner, who really wants to have a team and is prepared to do what it takes, working together with the city, the state to get an arena and get the job done," he said. "I think ultimately there will be [another team in Seattle]. I really do." . . . "I don't want to put the whammy on him [Steve Ballmer]," Stern said, "but he'd be a hell of an owner." . . . I asked Stern if this could be considered a hopeful sign for those of us who want the league in our town.
"I think it's just an attempt by Portland to do the right thing and show fans a good time," Stern said.
He was asked if he was concerned about a possible boycott of that game.
"I think the fans are entitled to do whatever they want to do," he said, beginning to move away. "It is an independent city. It always has been and I hope it always will be." Steve Kelley gets the point here!
Here was my email that I fired of AT Steve Kelley when he whined about a possible boycott of a possible meaningless Blazer game: Mr. Kelley, When you end your column with, "And look at it as a very small, but necessary, first step to welcoming back the NBA.", it capped so much that is wrong with your story.
The only first, and necessary first stem is to secure funding to remodel KeyArena. No matter how many fans attended games, protests, courtrooms, it will always and only come back to the arena.
You can call the Blazers your home team all you want, but the NBA will never call that arena a home in its current condition.
This game is no help to Seattle, just to Paul Allen's Portland Trailblazers, and sports writers.
The Sonics are gone, but KeyArena will be the site of an exhibition Oct. 14 at KeyArena between their former Northwest rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Phoenix Suns.
KeyArena is not good enough for the Sonics to call it home after 41 years. I see no good reason for the Portland Trailblazers to call it home for even one game.
The Mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels sold out the lease two years early to franchise owners that have lost most of their wealth, to leave to a city struggling to pay for upgrades to the Ford Center.
Now that is a visionary, the guy that testified that "anything could happen" in those last two years choked.
The Special Session in October is timed to deal with the next economic forecast due September 27.
By then it should be clear that people are still not spending money they do not have on things people are too unsure that they should produce because there might not be a market for that unmade, unsold, not purchased, thing.
I'll offer KeyArena, and low-income housing as stimulus spending, using tourist taxes, as being a good idea.
Top lawmakers, meanwhile, said a special session of the Legislature is likely in October, if only to approve new school-spending and criminal justice policies that were not resolved during this year's regular legislative session. www.seattlepi.com AP story linked here!
Mayoral candidate Michael McGinn was interviewed by SeattlePI.com's Chris Grygiel. Here is the short of it.
Tunnel bad, surface/I-5 expansion good (I agree).
High cost is bad (I agree).
Cars and oil are bad (a mass transit that does not completely run on oil and is sized appropriately for every use I call busses and electric cars, we have one and the other is coming in 2010, so fix the roads already).
Fence sitting on KeyArena and Seattle Center. He gave no solution to an anchor tenant if that is not the NBA. He did not say anything about the $540 million dollar master plan for Seattle Center that does not account for KeyArena or how to pay for it, or how to justify paying for it without an anchor tenant in . . . KeyArena.
He's green (I think he has a fixed idea of what that is, and his funding sources like him that way). He needs to tie tunnel spending to the sidewalks not being built anytime soon if I am ever going to think about voting for him.
This story cross-posted from my new/old blog ManyWordsForRain.blogger.com, that's where I will transition to when this is all over. I will post different stories there, and post in both places depending on the story.
SEATTLE - It appears we have somebody beyond Sonics fans that actually cares about KeyArena and Seattle Center. Sure, Seattle Center is in Jeanne Kohl-Welles' State Senatorial district.
But let's not act as if it were not the responsibility of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and the Seattle City Council, you know, people running for re-election.
She is being public about her role and responsibility, how refreshing. Let's hope, for this city's sake, she makes this work in September.
In the unlikely event they call a Special Session in June, I'll post something about that activity (or non-activity). I might stick around for the funeral the city will have.
The city has a problem, among many, and none will get any help from the legislature. Time for Seattle to just worry about Seattle.
Thank you Brian, Steve, Adam, Ed Murray, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Ross Hunter for being somebody.
Thank you "Anonymous", Peter, DBF, posters and the unusually large number of readers.
I have no idea what happens now, but I know what is not going to happen. I am not letting a few people off the hook, that got us here, the place we never should have been.
I like to write, I'll write about something else, sooner or later, and I will leave a link here when I figure it out. I have a strange feeling it will be politics.
This is not likely my last footprint here, I just wanted to catch a few people before they headed to the exits.
On Monday the Washington State Legislature will land on day 85 of the session, with 20 to go, and no plans for going beyond. The budget bills, as well as the appropriations bill have had hearings in the various committees. They next move into some hardcore deal making and amending, with the product possibly being a vote of the people later in the year to ask for two billion dollars for "green" school remodeling, it's the right thing to do and it would generate jobs, they say.
As the focus of the budget shifts to this refinement period, I found myself this morning tapping out an email on my phone to Senator Ed Murray to ask him to not forget, and ask him if there is anything I can do. Last week I had an email come my way from the very busy Ross Hunter, and through the exchange with Hunter he said he would "work with Ed". So, Ed, what shall we do with Ross' HB 2252 and your SB 6116? How can I help you?
While that email washes around in the sea of late session emails to legislators, I likely will find myself tapping out a few more, to a few others, asking to help. I know I am in no position to help, other than to remind everybody that I know what time it is, that being now.
Luck has nothing to do with it, it's all effort, but good luck anyway Ed.
(you can listen to the podcast here) Ways & Means* - 03/18/09 1:30 pm Full Committee Senate Hearing Rm 4 J.A. Cherberg Building Olympia, WA
The March 18th Senate Ways and Means Committee meeting in the Washington State Legislature provided an interesting opportunity for testimony to be heard on bills that would fund a variety of activities in King County, including funding for arts and heritage programs, tourism promotion, youth sport activities, regional centers, publicly owned stadiums, community development, and low income housing.
House Bill ESHB 2252 passed in the House on March 12th and was picked up by the senate committee. The senate has its own bill, SB 6116, but there are differences. The hearing gave public officials, and the general public, an opportunity to compare the two bills and voice their preferences.
Some differences between the two bills are few, but major. ESHB2252 does not have as many taxes extending beyond the years 2012, 2015 and 2021. It does not provide funding or language in the bill to support stadiums and arenas, including capital improvements and maintenance for the existing Safeco and Qwest stadiums. This was a concern of Senator Zarelli, who vowed to ensure that any bill the moves forward include language that does not lead the Seattle Mariners to a "Sonic incident".
ESHB252 also is much more prescriptive and restrictive in its dividing of the funding between arts and heritage programs, regional centers, human services, low-income housing, and community development.
SB6116, that appeared to be the favorite among proponents of any bill, provides King County greater flexibility by listing some percentages of how some of the revenue should be divided, and a ranked priority list of subjects, but it leaves the finer management of the revenue to the King County Council.
SB6116 also extends taxes not included included in the House bill to pay for all of it.
Here is section 6 of the bill SB 6116: NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 67.28 RCW to read as follows: Money deposited in a special purposes account under this section may be used only for the following purposes within the county: (1) Funding tourism promotion as defined in RCW 67.28.080; (2) Funding youth or amateur sports activities or facilities; (3) Funding regional centers or performing arts centers, but excluding regional centers or performing arts centers within: (a) Cities with a population of one hundred thousand or more; and (b) Cities described in RCW 35.57.010(1)(d); (4) Maintaining or improving publicly owned stadiums or arenas; (5) Funding community development; and/or (6) Funding low-income housing.
Maybe this gets into the House bill, maybe it doesn't. If any stadium language is wanted in the House bill it may be difficult to do. The House rules make it difficult to insert language into the body of a bill that is not similar to the title of the bill. I know it sounds crazy, but it is true.
Unlike the US Congress we cannot make random amendments to bills - they have to be related to the topic in the bill and described by the title of the bill. Crafting titles is somewhat of a legislative art. RossHunter.com
Although, Ross Hunter did testify in the committee meeting that he thinks the house bill could be used to insert language from SB6116, "either bill could work".
Which bill moves forward is still unknown, and in what form. ESHB2252 may be amended by the senate, or substituted by the senate bill SB6116 with some minor adjustments to make it more passible by the House.
I do think that one way, or another, a bill has to pass because the funding for the arts, 4Culture, is set to expire this summer. Funding for low-income housing could also take a big hit.
I will keep an eye out for activity, and post it in the comments of this thread.
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The state House wants to extend some taxes that paid for professional sports stadiums in Seattle.
Right now, the taxes on restaurant sales and rental cars are supposed to expire after the football and baseball stadiums are paid off. A bill approved 54-42 by the House on Thursday would keep the taxes going longer, with the money flowing into a special account to pay for housing projects, the arts and other programs.
The account is not supposed to be source for a new NBA arena or Husky Stadium.
The restaurant tax would eventually expire. A third tax on hotel rooms also would flow into the special account.
The bill now moves to the Senate.
As was mentioned on March 7th, here and elsewhere, Senate Bill 6116 was introduced by enators Ed Murray and Jeanne Kohl-Welles. SB6116 was similar to House Bill 2252 except that it did include support for stadiums and arenas, and extended the food and beverage tax (restaurant tax) as a funding source.
House Bill 2252 was passed by the House, and has moved on to the Senate Ways & Means Committee. Both bills, HB2252 and SB6116 are on the March 18th agenda for public hearing.
Along with the now somewhat familiar HB2252 and SB6116 is another bill, Senate Bill 6118. Who? Why that is one of the Senate's versions of House Bill 2250 (what?). Ok, does the Convention Center ring any bells? This one is the skim off money for a museum. Hey, that's what the county tax does, only for county and city museums. This is confusing, I hope they can reconcile all these bills.
1 bill passed by the House on the county taxes. 1 sponsored by two Senators (one being Ed Murray) on the county taxes. 1 bill for funding the convention center account with a new Section 3: a 2% tax, to be used under RCW 82.14. sure, museums are part of RCW 82.14, everybody nows that, but so are stadiums, RCW 82.14.049 (like I had t tell you, half of the husky nation has this written on the palms of their hands thinking they have a date with a pile of cash, not so fast dawg-boy).
The last bill on the agenda, that's the housing trust fund that pays for low-income housing, as is mentioned in both of the county bills.
All in one day, all in the same hearing, imagine that.
I have linked below to the bills (including the one about booze, I'm going to need it).
Ways & Means* - 03/18/09 1:30 pm Full Committee Senate Hearing Rm 4 J.A. Cherberg Building Olympia, WA
REVISED 3/13/2009 11:47 AM
Public Hearing: SB 6119 - Limiting the discount of purchases of spirits by licensees.
SB 6116 - Funding arts and heritage programs, tourism promotion, youth sport activities, regional centers, publicly owned stadiums, community development, and low income housing in a county with a population of one million five hundred thousand or more.
ESHB 2252 - Funding for arts and heritage programs, regional centers, human services, low-income housing, and community development in a county with a population of one million five hundred thousand or more. (If measure is referred to committee.)
SB 6118 - Concerning lodging taxes for, and certain transfers from, the state convention and trade center account.
Washington State House Bill 2281 was referred to Rules Committee on second reading. This bill is related to HB2179Authorizing cities to provide and contract for supplemental transportation improvements, sponsored by Representative Deb Eddy. How? The transportation "improvements" are paid fr by a .02% sales tax in King County (also, if you look at the draft of HB2281 in the upper right-hand corner it references H-2179.1).
So, HB2281, HB2179, and a raft of other bills are referred to the Rules Committee to sort out.
If/when a bill comes out of Rules Committee it has a reasonable chance of being different than when it entered and a chance to be voted on and passed.
HB2281 (and 2179) made the Second Cut-off date when a bill can be introduced, Senate Bill 6116 did not.
Senate Bill SB6116 did not make the cut-off, but that does not mean that it is dead, far from it.
Remember, whatever the House passes eventually has to be agreed to by the Senate. SB6116 was sponsored by Ed Murray and Jeanne Kohl-Welles.
Who are they? Senators Ed Murray is "Majority Caucus Chair", and a member of the Senate Rules Committee, and from the same 43rd district as Frank Chopp [edit, not Ross Hunter]. Jeanne Kohl-Welles is the Chairperson of Labor Commerce & Consumer Protection, as well as a member of the Senate Rules Committee.
They have expressed their opinion and preferences in their bill, SB6116. All of these bills need to be reconciled into an agreed to bill that both houses can vote on and pass.
As noted in the document, a bill not listed is not dead, that includes Murray's SB6116 (not listed), HB2281 and 2179 are listed. Once these bills are resolved they could go back to their respective committees, or they could get referred to another committee for voting and passing with recommendation to "do-pass" to the respective houses of legislature (just like in the other Washington).
So, what is on the legislative calendar for today? Senate Session/Caucus 3/7/2009 9:30 AM House Possible Session/Caucus 3/7/2009 10:00 AM The next house Finance Committee meeting is 3/12/09
Call the legislative hot-line at 800-562-6000 and support Senate Bill 6116. Or, write to your legislator, find them here, fill out the form, input the bill number (6116) and click "Support". It is a lot like voting, only, they know who you are, and there is an actual person's name from their district supporting the legislation. You could contact Ed Murray here, and Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and let him know that you support his bill, 6116.
KeyArena is not quite dead in the state legislature. In a story about state representative Ross Hunter possibly running for the King County Executive position vacated by Washington D.C. bound Ron Sims reporter Laura Onstot mentions that there is a placeholder bill in the legislature that might be used to address local funding for a KeyArena remodel.
As noted below, the bill is an empty vessel, with a title that says nothing about the intent of the bill. Welcome to Washington State, where if there is a door, it is closed and people are behind it negotiating a deal.
Hunter has also been going to bat for the city. He currently co-chairs a legislative task force to determine possibilities for remodeling KeyArena in the hopes of attracting a new NBA team. Hunter says he won't use state money for the project, but did offer to craft a bill that would allow Seattle to levy a city-wide tax to pay for the project. The city declined, but the deal isn't entirely dead. Hunter has kept a bill sponsored by Eric Pettigrew (D-Seattle) alive in his finance committee. The bill itself contains only a name—the visitor destination campus act of 2009—but keeps the issue on the table in Olympia if the city manages to come up with a plan to finance a remodel that doesn't involve using state money, Hunter says. Medina Rep to the Rescue, by Laura Onstot.
Here is a placeholder bill HB2281's legislative home Relating to the visitor destination campus act of 2009. [edited 6:02 pm] As mentioned at SonicsCentral.com, SB6116 dropped today. Unlike the house bill that acted as a placeholder, SB6116 has full text, including new section 6 to the legislation that actually has the word "arenas" in it. Thank you state senator Ed Murray.
On the House side you have Ross Hunter writing these bills trying to solve these issues, on the Senate side we have Ed Murray. We are lucky to have both.
This bill, I hope, will address the entire 74 acre Seattle Center site. With 53 days left in the legislative session there is enough time for this bill to die and live again, and again, and again.
Meanwhile over at SonicsCentral.com Brian Robinson is asking people to give a call to the legislative hotline to encourage state lawmakers to consider supporting a solution to KeyArena before the end of the session. Legislative Hotline: 800-562-6000
There are $30 million dollars on the line from Clay Bennett, or a remodeled KeyArena with an NBA team. If the legislature acts then either option is possible. If they do not act it will be a very long time before another solution comes along.
Washington State Representative Ross Hunter's has posted on his Bills Sponsored page House Bill 2252 that pays for, in part, Acquiring, constructing, maintaining, or operating public 12 sports stadium facilities. This is the county-wide sales tax on hotels, restaurant, and car rentals that the University of Washington's Husky Stadium. This may also be the source of revenue to pay 1/4 the cost of remodeling KeyArena. It was my understanding from proposals made to the legislature last year that the City of Seattle was requesting 1% of the funds generated from a 7% hotel tax that is collected just in the city that is slated for the Washington State Convention & Trade Center's expansion. It may eventually become the source, but in its current form the bill that pays for the convention center, House Bill 2250, makes no mention of Seattle Center or KeyArena. For that matter, House Bill 2252 doesn't directly mention Seattle Center or KeyArena either.
I expect one of these bills to change in order to satisfy the settlement agreement between the City of Seattle and Clay Bennett. Bennett is on the hook for 30 million dollars if the state and city approve a revenue source for the arena remodel and a team can not be located by 8/17/2013 to play in it. Finding a team doesn't look like too much a problem in the current state of the economy, but there is not good reason to overlook a 30 million dollar technicality.
As noted in a prior story, on February 12th USAToday.com story No buzz about NBA returning to Seattle AP Reporter Tim Booth had unknowingly passes along the missing piece in the arena puzzle to KeyArena rebuild hopefuls like me. The reporter, Tim Booth, summarized Washington State House Finance Committee Chairman Ross Hunter, D-Madina, statements thusly, "he was working with House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, on a plan for stadium funding that everybody can live with, but wasn't willing to disclose any details."
In the past 3 years Frank Chopp has been in to opposition to stadium and arena solutions that involved the state, even when the revenue did not come from the state's general fund. Speaker Chopp and others were so dissatisfied with the relationship between state-wide priorities and the local community needs of anything in King County (and Seattle) that a state task force was formed to construct a solution. Joint Task Force Local Financing Options for King County had been formed, with Ross Hunter as a co-chair, and Washington State senator Ed Murray as a member. The task force was presented with a variety of proposals to use the county-wide hotel/care rental/ restaurant tax, as well as the Seattle only hotel tax. Some of these locally collected taxes have state sales tax credits contributing to their funds.
Unfortunately the task force did not produce a report of recommendations of what the locally collected funds should be spent on, with Mr Hunter commenting to a Tacoma News Tribune writer that there isn't a natural jurisdiction for this situation.
As Mr Hunter stated back in December in the Tacoma News tribune, his personal preference is that the state sales tax component goes back to the state. Mr. Hunter was quoted in Friday's web edition of the Seattle PI as reiterated that same preference for returning the state's portion back to the state.
Here are some key quotes, with my commentary interspersed:
"I think I've got something that will work here," said Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina and chairman of the House Finance committee. "I am very close to releasing a plan."
Hunter would not offer specifics, saying he is awaiting approval from House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle.
He said his plan would not include a penny of state money but would be financed entirely by money raised in the city.
To a great extent this was the idea all along, what I think is useful is that he is being quoted in public explicitly stating the position before the inevitable argument is made by sports haters. How he constructs this is still largely unknown.
Hunter said he has no problem allowing the city to impose its own taxes but feels no pressure to enable Seattle to cash in on the bonus [from Clay Benett].
"I would go out of my way to figure out a way to take $30 million from those guys in Oklahoma City. I would go out of my way to do that just for the fun of it, just for the sport," Hunter said. But "the fact that Seattle has negotiated a deal that (is meant to) force me to act is not attractive to me."
Mr. Bennett named Mr. Hunter and Mr. Chopp as the people that stopped Bennett's quest for a free 500 million dollar stadium to be built in Renton Washington.
Seattle had asked lawmakers to allow the city to tap a local hotel and motel tax surcharge that is used to pay off previous work at the Seattle Convention Center. That tax source is raking in money more quickly than previously projected. But the idea of extending it to KeyArena does not have traction in Olympia, Hunter said.
"There is no appetite down here for fixing KeyArena with state dollars," he [Hunter] said.
Hunter said his plan would not rely on admission taxes, which are better used for facility maintenance. He hinted it might include money for affordable housing -- a pet concern for Chopp.
Despite its surplus, the convention center tax is not an option for KeyArena because it is partly funded through a state sales tax credit, Hunter said.
"I want the state's money back," Hunter said.
The credit costs the state about $10 million a year, he said. Without that portion of the convention center revenue stream, the taxes do not raise enough to overhaul KeyArena.
There you go, 10 million dollars, the one percent the City of Seattle was hoping to use is sort of being identified as the state's portion the convention center fund. Mr. Hunter has doubts about the convention center's proposal, and has sliced off 10 million dollars from that same fund.
Here is state's position, or at least Hunter's, as it relates to the City of Seattle, and the settlement between the city and Clay Bennett.
But he has no problem "getting out of the way" of local governments that want to make their own tax decisions, he said.
Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis believes a pair of motivations will encourage lawmakers to help the city, despite the Legislature's previous rejections of KeyArena tax proposals. One incentive is the $30 million payoff. The other is that the future of Seattle Center is to some degree tied to the health of KeyArena.
"Seattle Center is a more sympathetic issue than NBA basketball," Ceis said.
Still, the state faces a biennial shortfall of $6 billion or more, and lawmakers are facing cries for help from every corner.
"This is not an easy proposal for this legislative session," Ceis said.
Hunter said he would not be "embarrassed" into granting the city authority so it can chase the bonus. That provision was intended to put political pressure on the Legislature, Hunter said.
"You know, children do stuff like this," he said.
"So I feel no compulsion to act on this simply because Seattle has negotiated a deal without consulting with me beforehand. If it works out, it works out. If it doesn't, I'm sorry."
"I might have agreed to it ahead of time if they asked me but they didn't," Hunter said. "I just don't like that whole transaction."
This is the environment the lowly citizen (me) toils in while attempting to encourage the right people to do the right thing.
So, there is not going to be a specific KeyArena solution prescribed by the state, and absolutely not with any state funds. This is a broader problem requiring a broader solution that takes the state out of the role of deciding local issues where the state does not have a direct financial interest.
Hunter is separately working on broader legislation to reform financing of major facilities, he said.
Qwest Field, Safeco Field and the Convention Center were all paid for through a tax source deliberately set to raise more money than was needed -- to ensure better bond ratings, he said.
But that results in surplus funds that are inevitably raided by "rapacious" budget writers, Hunter said. Next thing you know, governments or programs are relying on that extra money for tangential needs.
Hunter is also keeping the details of that plan quiet until he can get Chopp's approval.
There you have it, the state government trying to get out of the way, out of participating in any way in stadiums and arenas. This morning Brian Robinson at SonicsCentral.com stating his feeling of hope.
The Washington State Convention Center made a move for its slice of the non-general fund revenue pie that proponents of the KeyArena remodel are also interested in utilizing. On February 5th Washington State Senator Ed Murray sponsored bill 5875AN ACT Relating to the convention place station expansion of the state convention and trade center. This proposal is intended to allow the the Washington State Convention & Trade Center to spend 766 million dollars to expand its facility by building a second building across the street from the current location in downtown Seattle, essentially doubling its capacity.
The revenue to support this big build comes from an existing 7% sales tax added on top of the existing state sales tax on hotels just in Seattle. The hotels must have 60 or more rooms, so, larger downtown hotels are effected. This tax is currently paying off the first big building. the debt against the original facility. Senator Ed Murray was quoted during the 5pm KING News broadcast tonight as saying the convention center currently turned away 1.7 billion dollars in business over the past 4 years, motivating the convention center to request the expantion.
This revenue is not part of the state's general fund, so taking for spreading around the rest of the state is to be avoided. This actually happened last year to plug some state budget holes and that made the Seattle hoteliers very angry. It is very likely that if the fund were to be taken again that the hoteliers would take legal action. It may not be popular to promote this project, but the alternative use for this fund may be legally problematic. But as Senator Murray was quoted on television tonight he said the expantion would employ 300 contruction workers, and 3,500 employees once it is built.
What is important about this bill is that there has been an agreement of some kind between the convention center folks and the City of Seattle to share that 7% sales tax when it becomes available, 6% for the convention center and 1% for Seattle Center. The city is planning on requesting that last 1% to fund the remodel of Seattle Center's KeyArena (that is one word, KeyArena).
Senator Murray said tonight on KING 5 News that nobody has approched him about a Seattle Center KeyArena bill. I had sent Mr. Murray an email on February 5th concerning both the his convention center bill, and requesting that he sponsor or supports a similar bill for KeyArena. I also sent a similar email to one of the bill co-sponsors Senator Ken Jacobsen who is my representitive, as well as an email to Representitive Ross Hunter. Murray and Hunter both served on a task force that was supposed to recommend projects using this local funding source. The convention center and Seattle Center presentations were made back to back to Mr. Hunter and Mr. Murray's task force on December 2nd, 2008. If Ed Murray has the ability to write a bill for the convention center then what, other than personal desire, is stopping him from writing a bill for Seattle Center. Who has to contact Ed Murray in order for him to write another bill that is almost the same bill as he had written for the convention center. Is this supposed to be the city asking, another legislator?
Brian Robinson at Sonics Central has mentioned that there is a bill that has been drafted and had a fed revisions. Does Rd Murray know about this, or is what he said what he did to force that bill out?
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