CLAYTON 鈥 The new director of the region鈥檚 tourism bureau promised more transparency and better relationships with area officials after his predecessor retired amid controversy surrounding an expansion of the St. 亚洲无码 convention center.
Robert Wallace, interim president of the St. 亚洲无码 Convention and Visitors Commission, testified Tuesday before St. 亚洲无码 County Council members, who have for months sought to question convention center officials over delays and at least $40 million in cost overruns.
Some members on the council had a testy relationship with former commission president Kathleen 鈥淜itty鈥 Ratcliffe. She never appeared before the council after members began asking for a hearing this spring.
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Wallace promised an improvement.
鈥淲hat I want to do is finish what we have on the expansion and try to get a handle on that,鈥 said Wallace, who took over after Ratcliffe retired Aug. 31. 鈥淎nd to improve our relationship so that we鈥檙e not called here that much anymore to be spanked. I鈥檇 like to be cooperative and be transparent.鈥
Wallace, who goes by Bob, was an attorney for the commission for 13 years as a partner in the Thompson Coburn law firm. He took a leave of absence from the firm to fill the interim president role.
Some councilmembers warmed to him. Republican Councilman Ernie Trakas, of South County, was one of Ratcliffe鈥檚 sharpest critics, but he praised Wallace.
鈥淚 think we can only expect the honest truth of Bob,鈥 said Trakas, who has known Wallace for years. 鈥淲hatever he says won鈥檛 be misleading. If he knows it, he鈥檒l tell us. If he doesn鈥檛, he鈥檒l tell us that.鈥
Other councilmembers remained skeptical.
Council Chair Shalonda Webb, a Democrat from North County, thinks the city will ask for more money from St. 亚洲无码 County for a second phase of the expansion. The county issued $105 million in government bonds to help pay for the expansion in 2022. County taxpayers will be paying for it until 2047 from a 3.5% hotel-motel sales tax.
But the expansion has already sucked up more than $250 million, and the second phase of the project has yet to officially begin. The city hasn鈥檛 asked the county for more, but Webb thinks it鈥檚 inevitable.
鈥淭here is not enough funds to complete any of those projects that鈥檚 on these books right now, and where else are they going to get these funds?鈥
Without information from other convention center officials, the county won鈥檛 be able to make any decisions about extending more money, Webb said. No convention center officials showed at the hearing other than Wallace and Craig Lucas, vice president of Kwame Building Group, the expansion鈥檚 project manager.
The council invited representatives from the downtown civic group Greater St. 亚洲无码, and the St. 亚洲无码 Board of Public Service, which oversees the convention center expansion.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for us to make an informed decision when we ask for a meeting and we don鈥檛 have that information come forth,鈥 Webb said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a better understanding of what project two is and what it鈥檚 going to cost. I have no better understanding of what are your projected sales and how we benefited at all,鈥 she added.
The expansion of the America鈥檚 Center, where the NFL Rams used to play before they left for Los Angeles, aims to revitalize the complex and help it compete with rival cities such as Denver, Indianapolis, and Nashville, Tennessee, which have poured money into their convention centers.
St. 亚洲无码 regional leaders announced in fall 2018 a 92,000-square-foot expansion, including a massive new ballroom, kitchen and public plaza. The project fell short 鈥 it鈥檚 missing the ballroom, kitchen and plaza, and only added about 71,000 square feet.
Expansion officials have blamed skyrocketing pandemic costs and delays. In early July, the bureau鈥檚 chief, Ratcliffe, announced she鈥檇 retire roughly 10 months before her contract ended.
It鈥檚 not clear if the second phase of the expansion can be completed. And in August, a report said the adjacent Dome arena needs more than $150 million in repairs. The convention center relies on the Dome to draw some of its biggest events.