Satire by Eric Curl
Nov. 12, 2023 – City officials will be dancing around at least one topic in the ballroom of the downtown Civic Center this week as they hold a 2024 budget retreat to discuss the proposed spending plan.
“It’s no Nutcracker, but it can be a real ball buster,” one city official did not say, regarding the long delayed decision on what to do with the Civic Center itself.
The fate of the building is not mentioned in the draft of next year’s fiscal plan or capital improvement program. The proposed budget does include an increased subsidy from the city’s general fund to support operation costs at the Civic Center. The Civic Center no longer receives revenues from the Hotel/Motel tax due to a new distribution agreement that went into effect in September – a loss of more than $900,000 based on this year’s estimate.
Most performances and events came to an end at the Civic Center’s Martin Luther King Jr. Arena in early 2022. The new EnMarket Arena, west of downtown, is where all the big acts go now. The previous City Council had proposed tearing down the Civic Center and redeveloping the site while restoring two lost downtown squares. The current council has instead voiced support for preserving at least a portion of the building that includes the Johnny Mercer Theater on the Civic Center’s north end. A new city office building may also be built on the Civic Center’s north end under a proposal presented in April 2022.
Tuesday’s workshop waltz is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. and continue to 5 p.m. Members of the public are welcome to observe the performance in person or online via the city’s website, Facebook and YouTube pages, and SGTV Comcast Channel 8. No partner required.
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