The lessons of Frontier Field and the soccer stadium have yet to be learned, apparently, says Rochester Mayor Tom Richards. The backers of both projects swore that they could survive on their own steam, only to need taxpayers to bail them out.
That history is causing Richards to look at MCC’s planned move to Kodak’s State Street campus with a jaundiced eye. MCC plans to buy more than twice the space it presently needs, and to take over Kodak’s power system. Richards asks: What happens if MCC one day realizes it bit off more than it can chew?
- FILE PHOTO
- Tom Richards
Richards says he worries that taxpayers, particularly city taxpayers, will be on the hook. City taxpayers pay more for MCC through the county’s chargeback system, and they would be hardest hit if MCC ends up needing a bailout, he says. They are also the taxpayers who can least afford it, Richards says.
“We fall in love with a project, we have the money to buy it or build it, [but] we can’t afford to operate it,” he says. “Kodak’s giving the thing away. The issue has never been could you buy the building for less.”
“The County Legislature is making these decisions, but all they plan on doing is passing it through,” Richards says. “They’re not over there voting to raise taxes so we can do this, so that takes a lot of pressure off the decision.”
The Legislature voted to allow MCC to buy the Kodak site for $3 million. All Republicans voted in favor, and all Democrats against.
MCC officials say operating expenses will be less at Kodak than at the Sibley building — MCC’s current home. But Richards says there are too many uncertainties: the unused space, the power system, and Kodak’s bankruptcy to make that guarantee.
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 5, 2013.
And at the top of the list of flops that put city taxpayers on the hook… Bill Johnson’s Fast Ferry. Mayor Johnson (remember him, the guy who said that those who opposed the ferry would be apologizing to him six months after it began service?) bought the barge at auction after it had already failed its inaugural year, and he and the other backers the project all swore that it also could survive on its own steam. Mayor Richards is to be applauded for his reluctance to travel down this well worn path of financial failure trod by so many civic and media boosters in the past.
And why do city taxpayers pay more Mr. Mayor? Do more MCC students reside in the city than in any other municipality? That’s why it’s called a “community” college.
It would be nice if the Mayor, County Dems, and now Joe Morelle would quit playing politics and start being honest with themselves and their constituents – Instead they seem more concerned with an out-of-state developer’s already sizable bank account.
How about recognizing the fact that MCC students (most of which ARE constituents by the way) need and deserve a campus they can be proud of – One that allows for full immersion in study – Not an awkwardly retrofitted, former department store with a mishmash of other uses and random members of the public wandering about.
I’m also trying to wrap my head around this one: If Sibley actually requires a police substation to ensure safety, is that really a place we ought to be sending college students???
I am sorry, but this is not a story about MCC and it’s location, it is a story of a back room deal with an out of town developer! Tom Wilmot did not pay the city the money he owed for the Sibley building. Richards worked with Winn development, a Boston developer to take the building off Wilmot’s hands. (note to City newspaper, did Wilmot receive any money when he owed the city over 20 million?) Richards is carrying the water of Winn and trying to force MCC to stay in the unsafe Sibley building location to the developer’s benefit, not our kids!
Sadly, Tom Richards, like many lawyers, see the deal, not the people that are involved! That is why he sold RG&E and we lost our utility and many jobs while paying more for electricity…and he made over 10 million. He is a product of and a champion of the “deal” getting done. So, if our children are in an unsafe Sibley building, so what?
I have a daughter who went to MCC. I am a city resident and pay taxes. I believe Wilmot should be sued, MCC should be allowed to move to wherever they think they can protect the students and educate them best, Winn should not have the Mayor carrying their water, and Tom Richards should focus on collaboration in our community. (oh, and enforcing tax collection against millionaire contributors)
Clint
Understanding that the original deal with RochWil, the Wilmot’s shell company, was struck by Mayor Ryan many years ago, I’ve always found it interesting that the local media have steadfastly refused to demand answers from the Johnson and Duffy administrations as to what actions, if any, they took to mitigate the fact that RochWil was millions of dollars in arrears in payments to the city and getting further behind every day.
Considering that Mayor Richards was the city’s corporation counsel from 2006 -2010 perhaps this re-election season would be an appropriate time to ask Hizzoner exactly what he did to try and collect on the unpaid loans. Certainly Richards should want to clear up any suspicion that backroom deals might have resulted in millions of dollars being left unrecovered by the city.
Just curious about the deal for the city to build a police substation in Sibley? How much is that costing the city? The mayor is certainly ensuring that Winn profits from Rochester and Monroe County any way he can. He put the substation there and now is trying to strong arm a COUNTY entity to contribute to Winn’s bottom line. My perception is my reality and right now my perception is that some sketchy deals are taking with the mayor and Winn.