Although there is no deal between Cincinnati and Hamilton County on riverfront development, some key financial terms appear to have been resolved.
In fact, two county commissioners late Thursday offered a decidedly mixed view of the discussions.
County Commission President Tom Neyer Jr. and Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus said in a statement that the county has ''never agreed to significant portions'' of a riverfront development agreement that City Manager John Shirey gave city council Thursday.
But the commissioners' statement also says:
''This document, drafted and released by the city, contains many provisions that are important to both the city and the county, but require further study to resolve. This led the county and city to agree on the major, urgent issues associated with the construction of Fort Washington Way and Paul Brown Stadium. We stand behind those agreements.''
The major points in the city document that the county has agreed to appear to be:
- A $10 million county contribution toward the city's $120.5 million overhaul of Fort Washington Way, the city's east-west connector.
- An agreement to split 50-50 the cost of building a new floodwall for Fort Washington Way, an estimated $14 million expense.
- A city pledge to return to the county property tax payments on the football stadium complex for as long as it takes to pay off the debt the county issues to build the stadium.
- An agreement to split 50-50 the rents and taxes generated by city developments on top of garages built in the land freed up by the narrowing of Fort Washington Way.
But the 15-page ''Agreement for the Redevelopment of the Central Riverfront'' that Mr. Shirey gave council includes much more detailed specifications about development of the city's prized riverfront. County leaders were stunned when Mr. Shirey seemed to be telling council the county signed off on all that detail, too.
''I don't know what's going on,'' Mr. Bedinghaus said late Thursday morning. ''I'm looking at a document with an agreement for redevelopment that is unacceptable to the county.''
Councilwoman Bobbie Sterne acknowledged that ''people, perhaps, have questioned the detail.'' But, she argued, ''Unless details are spelled out and agreed to ahead of time, they are never settled and are points of contention for years.''
Mr. Shirey and Mr. Neyer have had a series of face-to-face talks over the past few months to try to make a deal.
In their statement, county leaders called on city council members to get directly involved in the discussions.
''It is our hope that with council members' immediate, direct involvement we can come to an agreement that will move these projects forward,'' the statement said.
A majority of city council members Thursday supported Mr. Shirey's role in the negotiations and urged council members to stay out of it. But council members Todd Portune and Jeanette Cissell called a special meeting of council for 3 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers to discuss negotiations. They wanted council to invite county commissioners and representatives of the Bengals, too, but the other council members voted down any such formal invitation.
The special meeting may be in vain: six council members vowed to adjourn it as soon as it starts.
Mayor Roxanne Qualls and Councilman Dwight Tillery said such a meeting would be an embarrassment to the city.
By making the documents public, Mr. Shirey laid the future of the city's riverfront and the Bengals' $400.3 million stadium complex at the feet of the county and the team.
Mr. Shirey told council members and reporters repeatedly that the city's document represents a deal he reached with Mr. Neyer. If the deal isn't reached by Jan. 31, it won't be the city's fault, he said.
''The city's ready,'' he told council. ''There's nothing in the document I'm not comfortable with.''
Bengals President Mike Brown has said if the city doesn't transfer its 12.5 acres of riverfront land needed for the stadium by Jan. 31, he'll kill the stadium deal.
Mr. Shirey, sensitive to charges that the city has been delaying the stadium project, said the team is holding up the deal.
''If particular agents of the Bengals will quit trying to negotiate, we can get this done,'' he said.
But Stuart Dornette, the team's lawyer, said it's the city that's raising new issues to be resolved.
The lease between the county and team gives the team the rights to revenues from concessions and advertising in parking facilities on game days and on days the team holds special events in the stadium.
The city recently objected to the team getting those revenues, Mr. Dornette said. The team wanted such language in the lease so the Bengals could have tailgate parties before games.
Mr. Dornette said he thinks the team and city can reach an agreement quickly on the matter.
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