NEWS
City to debate Overture refinancing
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by Darryl Schnell
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
The Madison Common Council will decide the fate of the refinancing proposal for the Overture Center for the Arts at a meeting today, after Mayor Dave Cieslewicz unveiled a plan last week for the city to purchase the center for $1 as an alternative to the refinancing.
"Right now, it's split right down the middle," Ald. Zach Brandon, District 7, said about the impending vote. "There's a good number of support for both sides."
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who authored the proposal, agreed it would be a close vote, but said he remained encouraged.
"I am cautiously optimistic the refinancing plan will be approved," Verveer said. "Everyone I've talked to on the council either strongly supports refinancing or is leaning towards it."
According to Verveer, council members need a lot of education before they make their decision about the refinancing plan because it is an extremely complex proposal.
Verveer said he sees refinancing as the least risky option for both the Overture Center for the Arts and for Madison taxpayers.
"City ownership would create an untold number of questions for the Overture," Verveer said. "It would also flush tens of millions of dollars [of] Jerry Frautschi's money down the drain."
Frautschi's philanthropic donations have funded the construction of the Overture. On the other hand, Brandon said the refinancing route is too large a risk.
"Refinancing the Overture is gambling taxpayers' money to reach a goal that I do not believe is a realistic one," Brandon said. "It puts all the money in one place, and if it doesn't actually work, we're talking about the city buying it again."
The council's vote does not seal the fate of the Overture. Brandon said a rejection of the proposal does not commit the city to buy the center.
"The city does not have to make a decision until the summer … I don't support the refinancing plan that is on the table, but I don't necessarily support the city purchasing the Overture either," Brandon said. "Someone could come up with a more realistic and feasible refinancing plan, but as long as this one is one the table, that won't happen. I think we all need to clear our heads and work on other options with a clean slate."
Brandon said the Madison Cultural Arts District Board, which runs the Overture, as well as other alders, could come up with a new proposal. The mayor's plan to purchase the Overture would act as a political safety net, he added, in case all other plans failed.
Verveer said it looked like the council's vote has become an "either-or" proposition and that no better alternatives will come to the table. There is a reason why the MCAD, Frautschi and everyone else associated with the Overture believe this refinancing plan is the best option, he added.
"A lot of alders aren't very excited about either choice," Verveer said. "But nobody has come forward with a third option yet, and I don't think they will."
