House OKs conference center bill

Legislation gives city more time to break ground on project

MICHAEL BURNHAM, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Thursday, March 14, 2002

OLYMPIA -- The state House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would give the city of Olympia an additional year to use state sales tax dollars to break ground on a conference center.

Revised Senate Bill 5514 passed the House on an 89-8 vote shortly after 9 p.m. The state Senate passed the bill 40-7 on March 7.

The bill would give municipalities that have created public facilities districts by July 31 of this year until Jan. 1, 2004, to break ground on projects.

In doing so, the municipalities could use a small portion of the state's total sales tax for their projects.

Confident that Gov. Gary Locke will sign the bill, Rep. Gary Alexander, R-Thurston County, said he will now urge Thurston County cities to form the taxing district.

"Hopefully this will send a message out there that we can get a public facilities district created," Alexander said.

At the Olympia City Council's Feb. 26 meeting, Spokane developer David Brubaker proposed the creation of a publicly owned and privately operated conference center with 100 guest rooms, rather than a full-service hotel.

Brubaker recommended that the $20 million center be built on a 3.7-acre Port of Olympia parcel at the foot of Budd Inlet's East Bay.

The cities of Olympia, Lacey and Tumwater should form a public facilities district -- a board-operated district with borders matching the cities -- Brubaker said.

The three-city district could direct about $10.5-million of state sales tax revenue toward the center's construction, and Brubaker suggested that the remaining construction cost be covered through a bond issued by Olympia.

Current law

The existing public facilities district law requires that construction of eligible projects must start by Jan. 1, 2003.

"We still don't have an indication from the city that they want this yet," Brubaker said Wednesday night.

The conference center is still a tough sell, council members say.

"Regardless of the legislation, we still have to decide whether any conference center is worth public money," Councilman Matthew Green said.

"I'm not interested in the current proposal."

Michael Burnham covers Olympia for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-704-6869.

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