I think that the convention center should be budgeted secretly at $250 million and then when the construction costs go high, there is the built in contingency. Anything left over could go into dressing up the substation. I like Mike’s greenscreen idea.

I agree that we shouldn’t spend money from MAPS 3 on other projects before we know if there are extra funds to play with (highly unlikely since there is only $17M in funds budgeted and we have already made a $40M “mistake” on the Trails portion). This problem was brought up in the same Council meeting you posted (available funds from the 2007 GO bond). Until they get all of the projects complete (still several years away), don’t really know if there is extra money or not.

While a C.C. hotel is not listed as one of the MAPS 3 projects, we can’t really wait until MAPS 4 to take care of it either. The ULI folks strongly suggested that they open within 6 months of each other (if not at the same time). But to me that is all part of splitting the $400M C.C. into Phase 1 ($250-$280M/MAPS 3) & Phase 2 (unknown future funding). Plus the cost of the C.C. hotel. The Chamber even went as far as saying the C.C. was fully funded on the erroneous “MAPS Facts” website. Knowing full well that it was being split up and that it wasn’t even designed, so there is no way they can claim the MAPS 3 budgeted amount is going to fully cover the expense of a complete C.C.

I-40 is being relocated because it is dilapidated and in need of immediate replacement. that being the case, relocation fairly comes into play.

please don’t think i’m hostile to making the park as good as it can be, but an electrical substation simply does not compare to, say, the old sewage treatment plant by 10th street and I-35.

Larry, I don’t think that the $30 million OGE substation relocation expense was ever mentioned publicly during the MAPS 3 campaign. But David Holt, then the mayor’s chief of staff, did mention it to men in an interview that I reported on during the MAPS 3 campaign.