If backers of the proposed Confluence Project in downtown Eau Claire want $15 million in state funding, it likely won’t come in the next state budget. On Thursday afternoon the state Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee voted 12-4 along party lines to remove $15 million for the project that Gov. Scott Walker had written into the 2015-17 state budget. The committee’s Democratic minority proposed pursuing state bonds to fund the project instead, but that idea was rejected as well, WisPolitics.com reported.

Majority Republicans on the committee argued that the state’s limited resources should be prioritized toward K-12 education, not the Confluence Project, WisPolitics reported on its budget blog.

“We’re disappointed on how the vote came out partisan after all this,” state Rep. Dana Wachs, D-Eau Claire, said Thursday afternoon. “This does not necessarily kill the project at this point, but it is disappointing. The budgetary process is not complete at all, but this is a setback.”

Wachs, who was lobbying Republican and Democratic colleagues alike on the measure before Thursday’s vote, said there’s still a possibility Confluence funding could be obtained via the state Building Commission. “We’ve just got to keep our chins up and keep going into the wind,” he said.

The proposed community-university Confluence performing arts center is slated to be built along Graham Avenue in downtown Eau Claire with a mixture of philanthropic, state, county, and city funds. Originally, backers had sought $25 million from the state, but they scaled down their plans after Walker offered $15 million in his budget proposal earlier this year. Currently plans call for a roughly $40 million performing arts center, but local funding was contingent on the state contribution.

According to WisPolitics, the Republican-passed motion would require the state Department of Administration to “consult with the developer and others and report back to the Building Commission on progress and if (the Confluence Project) continues to need state assistance.” The proposed spending would not be put in the current budget, although it could be placed in the 2017-19 state building program, WisPolitics reported.

The committee’s vote drew quick – and sometimes angry – reaction from Confluence supporters. On Twitter, Leader-Telegram Editor Don Huebscher, who has frequently editorialized in support of the project, wrote simply that the vote was “infuriating.” Meanwhile, Eau Claire City Councilwoman Catherine Emmanuelle tweeted that the vote was “upsetting to say the least,” but added, “We must keep eyes on longview. Eau Claire is (a) wise & resilient community.”