County commissioner Mike Opat leading the way. (You'll recall that Opat called
stadium tax opponents just a handful of "cranky" people.)
Strib says: "Gov. Mark Dayton and Sen. Tom Bakk have already stated their
opposition to public aid. Hennepin County Commissioner Mike Opat, who has aided
the effort, said their comments were premature.
'Some of the comments from other public officials are disappointing in that
there hasn’t even been an ask yet and people are already suggesting that
they’re unwilling to listen,' Opat said. 'Which I think is unfortunate.'
Mayor Betsy Hodges declined an interview about the project. She and council
member Barb Johnson said in a joint statement that the announcement [presumably
means of the MLS expansion, not Opat's readiness to talk about taxpayer
handouts, but who knows] was exciting."
Same article goes on to say that council member Reich, the deciding vote that
gave us the Vikings tax handout, seems OK with this project too ... and sounds
ready to hand out money for more stadium entertainment. I suppose that's
because he's gearing up for yet another sports arena providing minimal jobs,
this one in his Ward One, that is seeking public money and rumors of little to
no historic preservation. Figure tossed around for project was around $24
million for a bike-riding arena. Not sure if that includes the 1,100-car
parking ramp or not.
Your tax money at work.
http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/297558791.html
Gayle Bonneville
NE Mpls