FIRST TIME PUBLISHED SCPR VIDEO INTERVIEW OF NC MAYOR DAVID HELD AFTER DISTURBING "STRENGTHTENING STARK" MEETING OF JANUARY 9, 2018
FIRST TIME SCPR PUBLISHED VIDEO OF CANTON REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CEO/PRESIDENT DENNY SAUNIER ON "THE NEED FOR A PLAN" TO REHAB STARK COUNTY
SOURCE SAYS THAT PORT AUTHORITY
DID NOT DO AN UNCONDITIONAL APPROVAL
OF
CERTIFICATE OF ESTOPPEL & OTHER DOCUMENTS
AS IMPLIED IN REPORTING
IN A MARCH 13TH REPOSITORY ARTICLE
(See Explanation Below Graphic)
EXPLANATORY NOTE: A source who knows exactly what the Port Authority did in yesterday's action by the Port Authority disputes The Repository's claim that the "Stark County Port Authority Tuesday approved documents that will allow developers to secure an up-to $100 million bridge loan for Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village."
The source said that the documents referenced have been placed "in escrow" and that it is a misinterpretation (or, perhaps, and editorial override) to say that Tuesday action was an "approval" in that approval IS ONLY EFFECTIVE WHEN several conditions have been satisfied to the Port Authority's satisfaction.
And the SCPR has learned that HOF officials are saying that the initial "bridge" loan, if it ever closes, will be for $40 million as a first tranche of rising eventually to $100 million. Moreover, many Stark Political Subdivision officials are trying to figure out where the HOF folks are going to repay the loan whatever amount it turns out to be, if at all.
As we all know, as my mother would often say to us Olson kids: "There is many a slip between the cup and the lip."
This adage is especially true with the Hall of Fame LLC folks. As noted in The Repository referenced account of the meeting, there have been untold delays while Hall of Fame, LLC gets its act together.
There seems to be as much chaos in terms of dealing with primarily Stark County government officialdom as in the administrative offices of the HOF as in the office located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.
ORIGINAL BLOG
Pro Football Hall of Fame "Public Enemy No. 1" North Canton mayor David J. Held?
Of late David Held has been a "profile in 'political' courage" in questioning the accountability and viability of the Canton located Pro Football Hall of Fame expansion project (HOF-VP, announced in 2014) in a series of public meetings/events.
Originally, the SCPR opined that former Repository executive editor David Kaminski (as a member of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce theam) might be a part of a Porter driven political vendetta against Held and other Stark County political subdivision officials who are questioning how the HOF-VP is proceeding.
Kaminski, The Report is told, recently left the Chamber and there is some speculation that he may have done so because of disillusionment with how development of the project is being managed.
Accordingly, it is seems more likely that the Chamber official who may be coordinating with Porter is Denny Saunier.
Ironic because the Chamber as an all-in supporter of the HOF-VP apparently has been ineffective in getting HOF CEO/president C. David Baker, who probably now earns upwards of three quarters of a million dollars compensation every year, to have had a sustainable financial plan before raising the hopes and expectations of Stark Countians with the 2014 blockbuster announcement of what is now a $1 billion plus HOF expansion project.
The SCPR video of Saunier's comments:
Just a tad hypocritical, no?
Held, who learned the hard way in dealing with master manager Stu Lichter on North Canton's Hoover Project, that Lichter is a man who makes promises galore but delivers sparsely and then only on the goading of a few mini-courageous public officials who are not nearly as aggressive with Lichter, and, in the case of the HOF-VP C. David Baker.
After years of dealing with Lichter on the Hoover thing, Held has first hand experience with Lichter and therefore is an authority that other Stark County officials ought to be paying close attention to.
Here is David Held with his incisive questioning which had to shake up the Strengthening Stark/HOF-VP folks and hopefully all of the Stark County elected officials in attendance. (3:52)
After the Strengthening Stark meeting, the SCPR interviewed Held in order to get amplification on this "stirring the waters" commentary that focused on the HOF-VP aspect of Strengthening Stark with is not so subtle allegation suggesting that the HOF village financial packaged or lack thereof was built on shifting sand.
The SCPR has been in Hawaii for the past two months but nonetheless has managed to keep Stark Countians abreast of the tottering ship of state HOF-VP.
A few meetings of the Stark County Port Authority and the Canton City Schools Board of Education have taken place with regard to the desire of Baker et al of the HOF-VP (including its cheerleading private sector allies who want to raid the public trough of taxpayer funding) and scant progress has been made by HOF-VP and Friends in convincing the Port Authority and Canton's schools to grant the HOF certificates of estoppel so that the HOF folks can possibly? get a $100 million bridge loan.
Of course, a bridge loan (if a financial institution is foolish enough to grant one based on being told by Baker et al they think they can get even greater funding of the project out of public dollars) has to be paid back along with some $5 million in interest, more or less.
Over the past week or so a number of Port Authority and CCS BOE meetings have been scheduled only to be abruptly cancelled.
Canton schools' BOE has scheduled a "work session" for next Wednesday presumably to talk with constituents of the schools as to whether or not the BOE granting a certificate will jeopardize the financial stability of the schools going forward.
Mayor Held is to be credited for causing others in Stark County's political subdivisions to back off and persisting in due diligence before acting on the certificate of estoppel requests.
His effort has Baker et al pulling their hair out.
Consequently, in less than two years (November, 2019) you got to believe that Baker, Porter, Kaminski and Saunier will be out for political blood and it could be that Held's greatest barrier to re-election is not his opponent but rather Baker and friends.
The SCPR has already learned that another Stark County elected official has been threatened with political retribution by James Porter.
Maybe Porter, Baker and their ilk might get a taste of their own medicine in the sense that maybe, just maybe they will become the objects of public scorn because of their effort to get the public treasury to bail out what appears to be an ill-conceived and most certainly ill prepared (i.e. having an actual financial plan for funding the expansion in place before turning one shovel of dirt) expansion vision.
And that's exactly what some Stark County officials have bought into.
C. David Baker phantasmagoric dream that he has been and continues to push Stark County taxpayers to fund.
If the HOF-VP was completely and wholly a private sector plan, GOD'S SPEED!!!
We now know that it is not and before one more dollar of public money goes into the project Stark's elected and appointed officials have a fiduciary responsibility to do their due diligence and pretty much be able to guarantee that infusing additional public money into the HOF-VP will "return in spades" dividends to the investing Stark County tax paying public.
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