RiverPark debt solution the Right Call
RiverPark debt solution the Right Call
By the Messenger-Inquirer
Published: Sunday, March 13, 2011 12:08 AM CST
Long before local leaders decided to raise nearly $80 million to invest in Owensboro's downtown, the RiverPark Center was one of the few places that could actually attract large audiences to the city's core.
So it was troubling to watch one of the community's shining stars struggle because of existing debt, while the area around it -- the area that it had helped prop up for years -- received a multi-million dollar makeover.
As we've said for some time, if Owensboro was planning a downtown from scratch, a performing arts center would likely be high on the wish list -- so why not take care of the one we already have and allow it to focus more on the strong performances and programs it has, and less on digging out of a financial hole?
For this reason, city and county officials, along with the RiverPark Center board and staff should be commended for developing a plan that will use a combination of public and private funds to retire the facility's $4.6 million debt.
Under the agreement, the RiverPark Center will have to raise $1 million in contributions by Aug. 31 before it can receive any public funds.
Once that goal is reached, Daviess Fiscal Court will match the $1 million using surplus funds it has accumulated in the county's hotel room tax fund. That money can only be used to pay off bond debt, Judge-Executive Al Mattingly has said.
The city of Owensboro will then pay off what is remaining on the debt.
"We feel strongly we can take this obligation on," Mayor Ron Payne said. "It makes no sense to leave this facility strapped. It is incumbent on us, in view of all the work we are doing downtown."
To put into perspective what this will mean for the RiverPark Center, performing arts and downtown in general, the facility was making interest and principle payments on the debt of more than $548,000 a year -- and the bond wasn't set to be retired until 2021.
This will allow the RiverPark Center to put more resources into programs for students, performances, festivals and the types of events that have already proven can draw people downtown.
The challenge now is to raise at least $1 million in private contributions -- and hopefully that number will be higher.
Now is the time for the RiverPark Center staff to show they have the ability to energize the public to support the performing arts center. Now is the time for those of us who enjoy its programs and performances and are proud that one of the finest centers in Kentucky rests here on the banks of the Ohio River to ensure its future stability. Now is the time for those who believe in Owensboro's downtown and want to see it revitalized to step up and solidify one of its cornerstones. And now is the time for business leaders, who preach the value of the arts in improving quality of life and attracting a qualified work force, to invest in this economic development tool.
When asked what will happen if the RiverPark Center can't raise $1 million, Mattingly said: "I don't even want to think about that. If they do not raise it, we're back to square one."
It's an opportunity that supporters of the arts as well as downtown can't let get away.
