Cincinnati City Council will take a final vote June 17 on next year’s city budget.
The budget includes $2 million for the Farmer Music Center under construction on the city’s eastern border. The music venue money has become one of the most divisive issues among council members in a city budget that totals $593 million for general operating expenses and $144 million in capital projects.
The money for the venue cleared a hurdle on Monday after it remained in the budget despite opposition from some City Council members.
How much money did the music venue owners ask for?
The music center’s owner and developer, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s Music and Events Management Inc., known as MEMI, asked for $8 million from the city. In March, Cincinnati City Council voted 5-4 to pass a resolution in support of $8 million for the Farmer Music Center.
Mayor Aftab Pureval, in his budget adjustment letter he sends out with each budget, proposed lowering that to $2 million.
A spokesman for Pureval reiterated June 16 that the money won’t be given to MEMI until it agrees to provide some guaranteed tax revenue from the venue. The two sides would negotiate the amount of that revenue.
It’s the $2 million that council will consider when it passes the final budget. Council on Monday did not pass proposals from Councilman Mark Jeffreys and Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Lemon Kearney to use the $2 million for other projects.
Council will meet at 1:30 p.m. on June 17 to vote on the budget.
What is the Farmer Music Center?
Also known as Riverbend 2.0, the $160 million music venue would upgrade the 42-year-old Riverbend Music Center on Kellogg Avenue on the site of the old Coney Island amusement park in Cincinnati’s California neighborhood. Designed by GBBN, the outdoor performance venue is expected to hold 20,000 people.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Council votes today on budget with money for Farmer Music Center
Reporting by Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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By Scott Wartman, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
