After a lengthy debate concerning the public value of the proposed renovation to the Edgewater Hotel, the Madison Common Council voted to keep the $16 million in tax increment financing in the capital budget with several stipulations Wednesday night.
An original amendment sponsored by Ald. Michael Schumacher, District 18, stated that the $16 million be completely removed from the budget. He instead chose to add a substitute amendment that would keep the TIF money in the budget while adding restrictions on how and when that money would be granted.
According to city attorney, Michael May, there is no commitment on the part of the city to grant this loan until other committees give their approvals.
Of the alders who voted in favor of the amendment, many made it clear that this does not mean they support the project as a whole, but want to see Hammes Company, the developer behind the project, move ahead in the right direction.
""This is not about giving a blank check to anyone, but about due diligence of process,"" Schumacher said. ""There are certain issues that still need to be ironed out.""
Before the money was placed into the budget, Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway, District 12, proposed a separate amendment that would grant union rights to workers on the proposed hotel project.
""It's clear to me that, at this point in time, the best thing about this project and the only clearly good thing about this project is the number of jobs it could create,"" she said.
Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said she wanted to thank the members of the trade unions because they have openly expressed their support for the project and their desire for job creation.
""If people are pressuring us to support trades because they're hurting, then we should step up and help them,"" Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6, added.
Ultimately the amendment failed, but the council continued to emphasize the need for jobs and the possibility that they could come from the Edgewater development.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, also stressed that the council was not mandating support for the entire project and that it has a long way to go.
""There's not anything close to a majority on support for this proposal,"" he said. ""It doesn't send a signal that this project needs to be expedited through the committees. The neighborhood process needs to be continue.""
The Common Council approved the city's operating budget, however the council did not restore $30,000 of funding to WYOU, a community television channel.
Alders approved $25,000 in the budget to address homelessness prevention, down from the original $50,000 proposed earlier.
