Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced Monday he will not veto the Common Council's decision to approve the refinancing plan for the Overture Center for the Arts.

Though the mayor said he still has significant reservations regarding the plan, which could result in the loss of $5 million dollars of taxpayer money in the next six years, he was not convinced the Council would have sustained his veto.

"I was in contact with alders on both sides of the argument," Cieslewicz said. "While there was certainly uneasiness regarding the refinancing, there was even more uneasiness about my proposal to buy the Overture Center."

Cieslewicz said suggesting the city should buy the Overture, rather than just standing against the refinancing plan, did not help his cause. However, the mayor said he stands by his decision to offer city ownership as an alternative.

"It was the honest and responsible answer," Cieslewicz said, addressing what would happen if the Council had rejected refinancing in the first place. "It didn't really seem to me that there was any kind of a third option on the table."

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who authored the proposal for refinancing, said Cieslewicz's decision not to veto is a relief.

"I am obviously very pleased the mayor made the decision not to force another debate on the issue of refinancing any time soon," Verveer said. "I don't think revisiting the debate would serve any public purpose."

Verveer said he talked with Cieslewicz over the weekend and asked the mayor to let the wounds inflicted during this struggle over the Overture heal.

"There are a number of people in Madison's arts community who have been hurt by this entire ordeal," Verveer said.

According to Cieslewicz, the tipping point for his decision came as a result of specific promises made by both Jerry Frautschi, whose philanthropic contributions have funded the Overture almost entirely, and the Madison Cultural Arts District Board.

"Jerry Frautschi has agreed to provide a new guarantee of up to $2.5 million to ensure the minimum size of the trust upon refinancing next summer will be no less than $107 million," Cieslewicz said. "Overture officials have [also] agreed to participate in efforts to broaden the base of support for this regional facility, so there hopefully will be extra buffers before we have to reach in taxpayers' pockets."

The mayor insisted other monetary sources are pertinent to the Overture's future. According to Cieslewicz, the MCAD's commitment to locate other sources of financial support has potential in Dane County and in the state of Wisconsin.

"The Overture Center for the Arts is a regional facility anyways," Cieslewicz said. "Madison citizens are not the only people who utilize the Overture. However, our taxpayers are the only citizens responsible for any sort of payment. MCAD should be able to generate some regional or statewide support for the facility."

Whether or not regional backing is secured, Verveer said refinancing still has the greatest potential.

"I still firmly believe the best option for the Overture Center's success is for the endowment to be given a chance to grow," Verveer said.