I never wanted the Town Toyota Center because the financing was too speculative for too large a center. Nevertheless as a citizen of East Wenatchee I’d support a tax increase, but not the current one. All municipalities should insist Wenatchee pay $20 million of the debt along with a reduced tax proposal. The City should also apologize for asking. 

    The main reason to support a tax is new leadership on the Public Facilities District (PFD) chaired by Joe Jarvis has a realistic plan to manage the center. They need additional funds to pay the debt and maintain it as a community asset. Without more tax revenue the PFD must demand revenues from Wenatchee as co-signer on arena debt, but it’d still be short of maintenance funds. That would stagger Wenatchee and be a continuing problem for East Wenatchee and the other municipalities. 

    So I urge my council members support the PFD for its and the arena’s benefit. But Wenatchee’s leadership needs to be held accountable for speculative publicly funded development.

    Wenatchee’s speculative tendency was displayed in two Wenatchee World articles on August 17. One was by Mayor Johnson and Jarvis. Jarvis wasn’t chair of the PFD at the time, so the argument is Johnson’s. The article claims the funding shortfall stems from a financial perfect storm. The City acted reasonably because of its wonderful 2006 financial status. Reserves were “very comfortable,” new tax revenues were expected from development and cash flow was comfortably high.

    That rationale is faulty. It considers one year instead of 30 years, risks total reserves that’d cover arena debt for only a few years, and counts on future tax revenues needed to service growth.

    The consulting report warned the debt was risky. Event centers across the state are breakeven operations without covering debt. The builder’s other projects had the same experience. The shaky note required a co-signer. Despite the warnings, a split council approved it with Mayor Johnson casting the decisive vote.

    The same World edition reported City leadership’s call for citizens to serve on a Build the Market Coalition to rescue a scaled down plan of another speculative development, Pybus Market. Last February a consultant warned of serious risks in the plan to purchase the old Morse building and convert it to Pybus without a private anchor tenant. The speculator who owned the Morse building wouldn’t be a tenant. Instead he claimed public investment in Pybus would attract a private anchor, exactly the opposite of what the consultant said.

    The Port of Chelan bought the building and, incredibly, Wenatchee passed a “memorandum of understanding to work together toward an eventual lease agreement if the Pybus proposal moves forward.” The speculator is happy because he owns property in the area, as does the Mayor and other developers. Desperate City leaders are calling for volunteers because its staff reports even the scaled down plan isn’t feasible.

    Who can support Wenatchee when it justifies such speculation? I can’t, so here’s a counter-proposal that holds Wenatchee responsible, cuts costs for East Wenatchee citizens and preserves the Center.

    Municipalities could insist on three conditions. First, Wenatchee has to pay off $20 million dollars of the arena’s debt through its available bonding authority. The PFD could reduce the tax request for voter approval to cover the remaining debt and maintenance. Third, Mayor Johnson and the City should, at a minimum, admit the decisions on the Center and Pybus were too risky for public funding and apologize for breaking the Mayor’s promise that the City wouldn’t return to the municipalities for assistance. Even more helpful for getting municipal support for a vote, Johnson should remove himself from the leadership.  

    Otherwise municipalities should vote no. Wenatchee leadership would be neither creditable nor creditworthy.