Lake County Commissioners may have a little more breathing room to consider proposals to construct a convention and event center under a bill that passed out of the Indiana House Tuesday.
Commissioners canceled a special meeting planned for March 6 to select a consulting firm to develop the proposal for the convention center in the wake of an amendment to Senate Bill 37. The amendment pushed back the deadline to accept proposals from May 31 to Dec. 31.
The extension amendment was piggy-backed on the bill, which seeks county council oversight of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority budget. State Rep. Hal Slager, D-Schererville, amended SB 37 to remove an earlier trigger provision that would have started the oversight only if the innkeeper’s tax was increased.
The bill was approved by the House Tuesday and is headed back to the Senate with amendments. State Representatives Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary, and Vernon Smith, D-Gary, were two of four votes against SB 37, which passed 90-4.
“Senate Bill 37 is good in theory, but after a deeper reading, I voted no for my community,” Hatcher said.
“The language restricts municipalities or local units from using the tax revenue as they see fit. It states that the food and beverage tax revenue should only be used for tourism and qualify of life purposes — notably leaving out public safety initiatives,” Hatcher said via email.
“In House District 3, we’re focused on public safety reform, intervention programs and promoting safe storage initiatives. I believe local governments should be able to use the revenue for the programs they believe will best benefit their communities,” Hatcher said.
Smith said he felt like he was not well informed enough about what the legislation was trying to accomplish to make an informed decision. He has concerns about how the legislation changed the qualifications for individuals selected to serve on the board of directors and the impact it may have on local voices. He said often CEOs and executives of those businesses may not even live in Indiana.
“We need lay people as well … We need people who are residents who are affected by tourism,” Smith said.
The legislator said he understands it was a largely Republican-driven effort, but it would be nice if the local officials were better looped in on matters impacting their communities.
Lake County Council President Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, and Vice President Dave Hamm, D-Hammond, both said they were pleased with the amended version that passed the House and were grateful Slager removed the trigger language.
“It should have always been in place. I’m glad someone’s listening,” Cid said.
Hamm said the SSCVA is one of those bodies that have no elected oversight but retain the ability to bond on behalf of taxpayers. SB 37 puts some oversight back.
“I’m fully supportive of the amendment. I’m glad (Rep. Slager) put that back in,” Hamm said.
Andy Qunell, chairman of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority board, did not respond to a request for comment by press time Wednesday.
Slager sought the deadline extension to allow for the completion of the site selection update by the Northwestern Indiana Regional Development Authority. The report is expected to be completed on March 1.
“You don’t put together convention center and hotel projects overnight. We want to make sure have plenty of time for timely submission,” Slager said.
David Wellman, the RDA’s director of communications, said the original study is being updated by Johnson Consulting and The Winston/Terrell Group and is on track to be completed in March. They are revisiting the sites that were finalists in the initial study as well as several additional locations that were submitted in January after the RDA issued a request for information asking if any landowners in Lake County had a site they would like considered.
Sites submitted include the Merrillville Commerce Center at 93rd and Broadway; 7900 Clay St., in Hobart; Ameriplex Southlake at 61st and Colorado Street in Hobart; and 1430 W. 23rd Ave., in Gary.