Renderings of designs by NBBJ and EOP Architects
Lexington, KY - After vowing to fight to restore proposed funding to the planned Rupp Arena District, Mayor Jim Gray has said the plan to renovate the venerable arena and add arts and entertainment options to Lexington's downtown will also refund $2.5 million in Coal Severance money the legislature allotted two years ago.
“Coal severance funds are produced in coal counties and should be spent in coal counties,” Gray said in a release from his office. “We have a solid, conservative financing plan for the Rupp project and we will include reimbursement of the coal severance funds.”
This statement comes on the heels of the state Senate un-funding the project in its version of the budget. The House's version of the budget followed Gov. Steve Beshear's proposal to allot $65 million toward the more than $310 million total project that not only would modernize the 38-year-old arena but would also expand and relocate the city's convention center.
Tuesday's announcement from the mayor, however, is aimed at the lower chamber. Its head, Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo, said in a statement from Gray's office: “I appreciate Mayor Gray’s honoring the commitment to repay the severance funds that were loaned to the city for the design phase of the project.”
Provisions announced at the time the budget for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 was finalized called for a total of $3.5 million to be allotted to Lexington if the Urban County Council also put in $1.5 million. Over this past summer, almost a year after the budget was enacted, it was revealed that $2.5 million of the $3.5 million from the state came from coal severance money.
In a June 13, 2013 statement from the Speaker's Office, Stumbo stated he would "work to see the $2.5 million is re-paid as the Fayette County project moves forward."
"Governor Beshear and the House both included $3.5 million in their budget proposals, with the money to come from bonds that would be paid back from the state’s General Fund. This is a sensible approach, because bonds will be issued to cover the sizeable cost needed to pay for all of the planned renovations. The Senate, however, refused to agree to this approach, so if the Rupp Arena renovations were going to stay on target, we had to find the revenue somewhere. Both House and Senate leaders agreed in a bipartisan way that this excess revenue in the multi-county coal severance fund could help us bridge that gap. When the bonds for renovating Rupp are issued, though, I fully intend to see that the money is replaced back into the multi-county fund, making it more of a loan than a grant,” Stumbo was quoted as saying in his office's June press release.
“While not what the House originally wanted, this approach on Rupp will not hinder any project in a coal county, and I would not have supported it if I thought it did,” his statement quotes him as saying in its conclusion.
Stumbo's spokesman Brian Wilkerson said late Tuesday afternoon that the Speaker had intended all along for the money from what is known as the multi-county fund of coal severance money to be reimbursed. "He didn’t want the project to die two years ago or be delayed,” Wilkerson said.
Gray is charging forward with his statement outlining the number of temporary design and construction related jobs - 4,400 - the project would create and the permanent jobs - 3,000 - that would follow its completion.
Beshear's office is continuing to look over the budget the Senate passed 24-hours ago.
“There are obviously significant differences between the Senate budget, the budget I proposed and the budget passed by the House," Beshear said in a statement. "However, this is just the next step in the process of developing the biennial budget. The House, Senate and I will be revisiting all budget issues over the coming days, and I expect we will come to an agreement before the end of the session.”
Wilkerson said a conference committee will begin to meet tomorrow to hammer out differences in the two chambers' budgets. The meetings are known for their secrecy and length. Often times reporters are kept a good distance from the room where the closed-door meetings are taking place. They often last into the wee hours and on weekends as end of the legislative session nears.
Once the committee approves a compromised budget, both the House and the Senate will need to approve with majority votes before it would head to the governor's desk for a signature.