The Eau Claire City Council is putting its money where its mouth is, voting 8-3 Tuesday evening to pledge $5 million toward the proposed Confluence Project’s performing arts center. While it hinges on a laundry list of conditions being met, including funding from the state and private donors, the resolution is nonetheless the first step toward the city helping pay for the proposed public-private arts center.

I think if folks in the community understood how great of a deal that is, I don’t think there’d be a question.” – Councilman Andrew Werthmann

“I think if folks in the community understood how great of a deal that is, I don’t think there’d be a question,” Councilman Andrew Werthmann said before the vote, noting that the $5 million would be paid for with new tax revenue generated by the project’s commercial component, a proposed mixed-use building worth an estimated $25 million.

Before the vote, the council engaged in nearly two-hour debate about the pledge, a discussion that hinged largely on whether or not the pledge should be contingent on a referendum of city voters. Several council members, including Monica Lewis, argued that the public should have a chance to weigh in on the issue before the city decides to spend money. “Just because we got elected didn’t mean we got more intelligent” than other citizens, Lewis said.

The majority of council members, however, said the council is elected to make such decisions on behalf of constituents, especially when it comes to complex issues like this one that would be hard to explain in a “yes” or “no” referendum question. “I’m not afraid to have a referendum,” said Councilwoman Kathy Mitchell. “But I am opposed to it because I do not think it is a reasonable way for us to get input from citizens.”

Councilman Dave Duax, who was among the eight members who voted in favor of the pledge, said the resolution provides adequate financial protections for the city. “After all these years of talk about what to do downtown, this does provide us one opportunity to move ahead,” Duax said.

The roughly $80 million Confluence Project, unveiled last year, is a joint effort by UW-Eau Claire, the Eau Claire Regional Arts Council, and Commonweal Development to build a multi-stage performing arts venue and a mixed use building (which would include commercial space and a privately-operated student dorm) on South Barstow Street. The city’s $5 million pledge would apply to the arts center; the city also will be asked to pay for roughly $5.9 million in infrastructure upgrades needed for the project. Plans call for a $50 million arts center: $25 million would come from the university, $12 million from philanthropy, $5 million each from the city and county, and $3 million from New Market Tax Credits.

Early in the meeting, City Attorney Stephen Nick told council members that if they approved the $5 million pledge, their legislative action would take precedence over a citizen referendum if one is held. However, it’s still possible that a referendum could address other components of the Confluence Project that the city hasn’t yet approved. A group calling itself the Citizens Referendum Committee, led by Mike Bollinger, recently announced its desire to put the project to a public vote. According to a press release, Bollinger said that despite the vote his group will still work toward holding a referendum; to get one on the ballot, they need to collect 3,619 signatures from Eau Claire residents.

Earlier in the meeting, Lewis tried to amend the resolution to make the $5 million pledge contingent on a citizen referendum. “If (voters) actually don’t want this, do we honestly want to move forward with this project?” she asked. Lewis and Councilman Bob Von Haden argued that input the council has received – including from the dozens of residents who spoke at a marathon public hearing Monday night – indicates voters should be allowed to make the Confluence funding decision themselves. “The citizens have asked for it, and I think they have a right to be heard,” Von Haden said. In addition to the $5 million pledge, residents are also worried that city taxpayers could be on the hook if the performing arts center loses money every year, he added.

But the majority of Council members disagreed about adding the referendum caveat. Among them was Werthmann, who asked why a referendum should be held for a $5 million pledge when no referendum is needed when the city passes an annual budget that is more than 20 times larger. Lewis’ amendment ultimately failed on a 7-4 vote.

In short order, the council then approved the pledge on an 8-3 vote. Voting in favor were Council members Werthmann, Duax, Mitchell, Catherine Emmanuelle, David Klinkhammer, Eric Larsen, Michael Xiong, and Council President Kerry Kincaid. Those opposed were Lewis, Von Haden, and David Strobel.

The council agenda also included a discussion item about holding a Confluence-related referendum, but the debate over the resolution seemed to make talk of a referendum moot. In any case, that discussion ultimately was postponed until the council’s Nov. 12 meeting.