Do Over Needed for Frederick Hotel/Conference Center

George Wenschhof

Sadly, the attempt by Mayor Randy McClement (R) of The City of Frederick to push forward the development of a downtown hotel/conference center has become a boondoggle of epic proportion.

In spite of the effort by proponents of this development to project a positive outcome resulting from the recently concluded Maryland general assembly session, no financing from the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA) has been approved.  When reading reports of their hastily held press conference one would believe $16 million in state funds had been approved and it was full speed ahead for this development project.

Instead, what transpired in a convoluted manner, typical of action during the yearly legislative session, was the insertion of $1 million toward the project this year. However, the allocation of these funds is contingent on a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) being reached by all of the parties involved and the approval by Maryland Board of Public Works (BPW) for the use of MSA funds. 

In addition, the legislative wording included language requesting $7.5 million for each of the following fiscal years to be included by Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) in his budget.  Not only does the Governor have to include these funds in his next two budgets, but the availability of these funds is once again contingent on a new MOU and approval for the use of MSA funds for this hotel/conference center.

It has been reported the developer has said they will not move forward until they have received the full $16 million, which puts us at 2018 and counting, if funding requests are approved.

Since being elected mayor nearly seven years ago, McClement has repeatedly had the cart before the horse in what he has framed as his signature project for the city.

Over four years ago, when the city was requesting $1million from MSA, I published a column where I pointed out “there was no site or developer identified, an update on the feasibility study had not been done and the city contribution to the project had not been decided or shared with taxpayers”.

In a recent column I wrote with the city MSA request now around $17 million “Opponents have alluded the “fix” was in for this site owner and developer, pointed out contaminants were discovered during earlier environmental studies, are concerned over the outcome of a historic building on the site that once housed a tannery and have added the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) proposed for this project has now been banned by California, the state that first used this creative financing 50 years ago”.

Now, with a new MOU required prior to review for approval of stadium authority funds by Maryland BPW, it is an opportunity for The City of Frederick to review, amend or possibly terminate the questionable deal they negotiated with the developer.

Prior to submitting any request to the Maryland Stadium Authority for funds and The City of Frederick agreeing to buy the land and partner with the developer in the conference center, the city should take several actions.

At a minimum, the city should require the developer to obtain financing, site plan and building permit approvals at their expense prior to agreeing to any other conditions.  If the developer does not agree to these terms, it may present the opportunity for a do over of the entire process.

If so, this would allow the city to start over with a new request for proposals (RFPs) process with parameters more acceptable and fair to taxpayers.

An update of the feasibility study of the need for a 207 room hotel and 24,000+/- square foot conference center should be done taking into account the privately funded Holiday Inn/Conference Center expansion is anticipated to be completed in early 2018.  The Holiday Inn/Conference Center expansion will have a total of 205 rooms with 30,000+/- square feet of conference space.  It also has easy access to interstates and an abundance of onsite parking making the demand for two large venues within miles of each other suspect.

After an updated feasibility study is completed, it is likely data would support a more appropriately sized 100 - 110 room hotel and 5,000+/- square foot conference center in downtown Frederick.

Interestingly, as the name implies, the stadium authority fund was started in 1986 to lure a football team back after the shock of losing the Colts in the middle of the night and the desire to keep the Orioles.  Professional baseball and football stadiums were subsequently built resulting in the Ravens coming to Baltimore and the Orioles staying in town.

Over the years, politicians began to use MSA funds on public/private development projects across Maryland with mixed results.

The use of stadium authority funds requires public involvement and some of these projects have been costly failures in Maryland. Across the country, there are countless failures of similar projects.  So in a do over, it would not be advisable for the city to request any funds from the Maryland Stadium Authority.

Ideally prior to issuing a new RFP, as I suggested 4 years ago, the city should hold a series of public workshops to determine what level of government participation is acceptable to taxpayers.  This should be spelled out in the new RFP process, a serious omission in what was done previously. Examples of what a city financial contribution could be is a one time several million dollar contribution or a waiver of taxes for the first 5-10 years.  However, the city contribution should be finite with a definite end and not include any ownership of the property or partnership in the project.

The acceptable geographic area to request RFPs should also be expanded in the downtown historic district.

All of the above steps would increase responses, likely produce a more suitable site and result in the desired positive impact to the historic district.

The fact the city only received 2 responses to their previous solicitation effort should have been an immediate signal, something was amiss.

Continuing forward with the present proposal will only result in a monumental quagmire for taxpayers for countless years to come.

The Maryland board of public works would be wise to not approve the current $1 million request and any subsequent funding requests without the developer providing financing approval, site plan approval and building permit approval.

Hopefully, the opportunity presents itself for The City of Frederick to start over and move forward with a hotel/conference center that makes sense for taxpayers and is more suitable for historic downtown Frederick.

If so, let’s hope they take advantage of the opportunity.

Stay tuned.

DEMOCRATIC DOMINOS SET TO FALL IN MARYLAND

George Wenschhof

The announcement by Maryland U.S. Democratic senator Barbara Mikuski that she would not be running for reelection set off a momentous chain reaction among Democratic elected officials and activists.

On Tuesday April 26, primary election day in Maryland, voters will determine the outcome.

Democratic Representatives Chris Van Hollen (district 8) and Donna Edwards (district 4) are the front runners vying to become the heir apparent to Mikuski.  They are locked in a very tight primary battle with recent polling, when taking into account the margin of error, showing it is basically a tie.

There are still up to 18% undecided voters according to polls and they will determine who will win the Democratic primary. If past history is a good judge, the winner of the Democratic primary will easily go on to be elected the next U.S. senator in Maryland in November.

Both Van Hollen and Edwards would make an excellent U.S. senator and it is unfortunate Democratic voters will have to chose between the two of them and that one of them will no longer hold office.

The outcome may also be influence by voter turnout for Hillary Clinton who has been winning an overwhelming percentage of the African American vote, a strong voter demographic in Maryland.

My vote will go to Van Hollen who has been outstanding as a representative in Congress, leading me to once hope that one day with a Democratic majority he would become Speaker of the House.

An accomplished speaker, who is at ease in today’s 24 hour news cycle, his drive to be informed on all aspects of today’s politics with credibility in both domestic and foreign policy, makes him a perfect fit in the U.S. Senate.

Not surprisingly, the entry of Van Hollen and Edwards into the race for U.S. Senate, set off quite a chain reaction among Democrats aspiring to serve in Congress.

Today, I will look at the gerrymandered district 8 race that drew eight well qualified Democratic candidates battling to win the Van Hollen congressional seat.  Maryland state delegates, a state senator, a millionaire businessman, a former news broadcaster, and candidates with extensive government experience make up the Democratic field of candidates.

The winner in this Democratic primary will also very likely win the General Election.

Once again, this race is difficult for voters to decide from among such a well qualified field of candidates.

The front runners are state senator Jamie Raskin, David Trone and Kathleen Matthews. Although state delegates Ana Sol Guitierrez and Kumar Barve, David Anderson, Joel Rubin and William Jawando will each receive votes, none are expected to exceed a single digit percentage.

Raskin has the best grassroots organization among the candidates and his campaign fundraising in most races would be considered strong.  However the entry by Matthews and Trone has made this a contest between Potomac money and grassroots support.

David Trone, by his own admission has spent nearly $10 million of his own money in his self funded campaign and Kathleen Matthews who is the wife of political commentator Chris Matthews has also raised considerable funds for this congressional seat.

All three are well qualified and will be competitive. As a result, on Tuesday it is likely the winner will emerge from this race with a plurality of 35-40% and not a majority of the vote.

The get out the vote effort by the campaigns and how the undecided voters swing will also impact the outcome of this election.

While, I am concerned with the amount of money spent by Trone in this campaign and believe strongly in the need for campaign finance reform, I found him to be reasonable and sincere. I found myself mostly agreeing with his positions on pivotal issues when I interviewed him.

Matthew’s time spent as a television news anchor also has her well informed on the issues facing voters.

However, it is Raskin who has a proven record on supporting a pathway to citizenship, proposing effective gun safety laws, supporting renewable energy, fighting against fracking in Maryland and supporting an increase in the minimum wage to $12 an hour.

I am glad I do not vote in this district because the choice is so difficult.

Look to see Raskin emerge as the winner in this closely contested race.

As always, voters have the final say – If you have not already taken advantage of early voting, go vote on April 26th!

Stay tuned.

TRONE SELF FUNDS CAMPAIGN FOR CONGRESS

George Wenschhof

Recently, voters in Maryland’s 8th congressional district have been introduced to Democratic candidate David Trone by way of a series of compelling television spots and direct mail. Some of the televised spots depicted have been his growing up on the family farm, his father losing the farm, the growing of his successful Total Wine & More business, his caring for his employees and how he is self funding his campaign.

Sitting down and interviewing him recently at Beans & Bagels in Frederick, I found him to be straight forward and focused on winning the 8th district congressional seat.

He grew up on a chicken farm in nearby Berlin, Pennsylvania.  After, his father lost the farm, David told me he would make money by helping farmers sell their eggs to distributors using a pay phone as his office.

David would go on to Wharton business school and start his business which has grown to 150 stores in 21 states that had $2.5 Billion is sales last year. He shared he has been married for 28 years and they have four children.

His experience with politics is not new and he shared with me he had held fundraisers at his home for President Obama that raised $850,000 and one for the 2014 Democratic candidate for Maryland Governor, Anthony Brown that raised $1.2 million.

The announcement by Maryland U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D) she would not seek reelection set off a series of domino like actions among elected officials in Maryland. Including, the announcement by Chris Van Hollen (D), the current Representative in the 8th district, he would run for the Maryland U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Barbara Mikulski.

This has led to 9 Democrats running for the 8th district seat.  The pundit frontrunners are state senator Jamie Raskin and Marriott executive Kathleen Matthews, followed by state delegates Kumar Barve and Ana-Sol Gutierrez.  Will Jawando, Joel Rubin, David Anderson and Dan Bolling are the others.

I asked David Trone why he was running and why he entered the race so late.  His answer was quick and one you might expect from a successful businessman, “I want to get things done”.

He acknowledged his late entry and the pundit thoughts on the race and said that the timing was right for him to run for office, saying he had just hired a CEO to run his business.  He told me he is not accepting contributions higher than $10 and is self funding his campaign.

When I asked if he had a favorite for president, Trone told me Hillary Clinton.

We would talk about many issues and his knowledge of Maryland politics.  A friend of Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (D), he hired Andrew Friedson, who accompanied him to this interview, from Franchot’s office to be his senior campaign adviser.

I mentioned I had read his position on 20 issues he had displayed on his campaign website,www.DavidTrone.com, asking him “what was the most important issue to him”?

He said “the federal budget and tax reform”.  He added he supports higher taxes to the wealthy, saying “I do not have a problem paying more taxes”.  Trone said he also supports the Infrastructure Bank proposal put forward by Maryland representative John Delaney (D) to help rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. I asked David if he supports the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal proposed by President Obama and he said he did.

Job creation was also among the first issues Trone mentioned to me.  Trone also wants to double the $31 Billion funding of the National Institute of Health (NIH) saying this is one of the premier places in the world.

Education was also important to Trone who supports universal pre-k and free college tuition to students in exchange for 5 years of public service.

On gun violence Trone supports background checks and reinstating the federal assault weapons ban.  He also supports police body cameras.

Trone also supports a women’s right to choose and equal pay for equal work.

In regard to social security, he supports raising the cap on income taxed.  When it came to energy, Trone felt all federal buildings should be energy efficient.

We discussed the gerrymandering that created the convoluted 8th district in Maryland where 13% of the district is in rural areas in Frederick and Carroll counties and the rest in Montgomery County.  Trone told me he supports election reform and an end to gerrymandering, adding districts should follow the natural lines of communities.

I would not get to an in depth discussion on foreign policy with my only question coming as he was leaving. I asked if he felt U.S. ground troops would be needed in the battle with ISIS and he replied “It may be necessary”.

I found David Trone to be a sincere man who was direct with his answers who also listened to the thoughts I shared.  I took note he took time to have a conversation with Richard Jackson who owns Beans & Bagels upon his arrival to be interviewed by me.  Richard and his wife live in the 8thdistrict and when I informed Rich I would be interviewing Trone at his Deli, Rich wrote up a series of questions for me to ask him.

I had informed Trone about the list of questions when we first sat down to begin the interview, but time flew by without me asking them.  I was struck by Trone reminding me of the questions Rich had given me and asked if I would send them to Andrew. He said he would answer and send back to me so I could give to Rich.

He then headed off to other scheduled meetings and to visit volunteers in his Frederick and Carroll county offices.

The Maryland primary is April 26.

Stay tuned.

Weir Wants More Public Input on Downtown Hotel

George Wenschhof

Jane Weir recently agreed to my request for an interview about her concerns about the proposed downtown hotel/conference center located along Carroll Creek in the historic district of The City of Frederick.

A quick and brief history of this project is the idea to have a hotel located in the historic district of The City of Frederick has been around for over 30 years.  In fact, it was during the time Maryland state senator Ron Young (D) was mayor, all those years ago, the thought to build a downtown hotel was discussed for the first time.  It was at this time Young would embrace the idea to build the downtown flood control project and develop the adjoining property similar to San Antonio’s acclaimed River Walk.

Decades later, with the flood control project mostly complete, development has finally begun to take place along Carroll Creek. There is currently a mix of residential and commercial buildings. As is the case of many commercial developments, which are subject to economic whims, there has been some turnover with opening and closings of restaurants since the buildings were first built.

Since being elected mayor, Mayor Randy McClement (R) made the building of a downtown hotel/conference center the signature project of his administration.  The idea of a hotel/convention center was scrapped years ago when it was realized the infrastructure was just not there and would be too difficult to create to provide support such a large venue.  Since that time, hotel/conference center has been used.

Mayor McClement has found the going tough as he has attempted to move this project forward. Four years ago, I published a column after the city aldermen had voted to approve a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) with the state stadium authority for the amount of $1 million toward the building of a downtown hotel/conference center.  A MOU is often used by municipalities to put forward a funding request to the state legislature.

At that time, there was no site selected, no builder identified and no agreement on what the city incentives would be, including who would own the land after the hotel/conference center was built.

In my column four years ago, Maryland state delegate Galen Clagett (D) would advocate for an increase in the hotel tax and for the city to own the land where the hotel would be built.

At that time, Ron Young, who is now a Maryland state senator told me “asking county hotels to pay for competition does not make sense to me and he would not support it.”  The hotel tax increase would not pass.

Today, the site has been identified, a developer identified and a new “Memorandum of Understanding” with the state stadium authority has been approved by the city aldermen. The project is now being billed a public/private venture with nearly 50% of the financing coming from government funding sources which includes a raise of the county hotel tax and the use of a tax incremental funding (T.I.F.) district for the project.

I asked Jane, who lives in Middletown with her husband, why she was raising questions about the proposed hotel/conference center when she doesn’t live here. I also asked her what first got her involved in interacting with government, adding I had often seen a personal experience get someone involved in advocating for or against something.

Jane said her first frustrating experience with government was with the approval over a year ago of the Valley School adjacent to the home where she and her husband live in Middletown.  Se told me by the time she was aware of what was happening, it was too late for her impact the approval. 

Jane said me she and her husband moved to Frederick County over 15 years ago and feels Frederick is beautiful, adding “it is what made us move here. In regard to her questions surrounding the proposed hotel/conference center she added “we pay county and state taxes that will go toward this”.

Jane would tell me she felt this would impact everyone including the small business owners in the historic district who make it so special.

She first became aware of the proposed hotel/conference center when she saw a rendering of the project on Facebook.  Jane told me “I was shocked and did not like it!”

Jane said she wrote a message to Frederick County executive Jan Gardner (D) on her Facebook page saying she was really concerned about this, adding “it is scary looking”.

Since then, Jane said she has had a frustrating experience dealing with elected officials and staff when she has tried to get information on the details of what is being proposed to be built and the Memorandum of Understanding recently agreed to by the city aldermen.

Jane said she had read a great book entitled “Convention Center Follies” written by Heywood T. Sanders where he debunks how convention centers will spur urban economic development. She had communicated with elected officials asking them to read this book and was discouraged when she did not receive a response.

Jane told me she would reach out to several people including Janice Wiles, former director of “Friends of Frederick County”, Kim Mellon, and Jack Lynch a former candidate for mayor and aldermen, to help her set up a Facebook page so she could get information out to the public.  She was concerned others would find out too late, just as she had in regard to the approval process for the Valley School next to her home.

When I informed her, the city must have had workshops on this subject prior to voting for approval, she said the workshops were during the day and questioned how many people could attend them.

When I asked her what she did not like about the project, Jane said “the location is bad, that out of the 6 potential sites I read about, this one is the least desirable”.  She would add she felt it was too close to the historic district, and the large imposing design would dominate the area. She is also concerned about potential of it being a toxic site and questioned whether taxpayers would be responsible to remediate the site.  In addition, Jane was concerned the outcome of structures on the proposed site, one of which had been used by for a Tannery.

I would conclude the interview by asking her “What would you like to see at this point?”  Jane said she would like to see the process slow down. She added “I would like to see a process where the general public in the city and county could have an open dialogue with a public question and answer forum”. 

Stay tuned.