Financing for the State Street Design Project was on the minds of members of Madison's Downtown Coordinating Committee Wednesday night.
Committee members were reassured by Mark Webster, district manager to U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., that the federal funds she secured would be there in the future if the city decided not to use them immediately. Baldwin earmarked $1 million for State Street, but some city officials worried the money would have to be returned if not used by a certain date.
\There's at least an 80 percent chance of securing the money,"" Webster said, adding that although the wording of measure only included State Street, it could possibly be used for other aspects of the project. ""It is the local leaders and the local process that determine where the dollars go to.""
The DCC also discussed the city's relationship with the Overture Center, which is currently under construction on the 200 block of State Street. According to arrangements between the city and the cultural arts center, the Overture Foundation has agreed to pay $310,000 dollars for restoration of the sidewalks and streets surrounding the construction site during the first phase of the project. This would not only include State Street, but also Fairchild, Mifflin and Henry streets as well.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who sits on the committee said, it would be foolish to simply revert the sidewalks and streets back to their original state.
""It just seems ludicrous to me to have Overture put back the plain old concrete sidewalks and plain old asphalt streets the way they found it before construction began, when we will have had a new adopted State Street Design plan that calls for awesome improvements in the area,"" he said.
The problem with that idea is it could require the city to pitch in some of its already scarce money, according to DCC member Ted Crabb.
""We're not a funding group, but we do have a responsibility to set some priorities,"" he said.
The State Street Design Project will go again before the Board of Estimates March 25, and if it passes that hurdle, the DCC will meet once more April 3 before making final recommendations to the City Council April 9.
""Overall, I think we clearly made some progress tonight and that slowly but surely the State Street Project is moving forward,"" Verveer said.
