The city-parish currently is working with Canadian National Railroad to reach an agreement that would give the company title to a 100-foot strip of land underneath the existing railroad tracks, Mayor Kip Holden told the Baton Rouge Press Club today. The current negotiation parameters would call for the railroad to donate its interest in the remaining property west of that strip in return for the city-parish not seeking any other access to the site other than the existing crossing at North Street. Holden says any agreement between the city-parish and the railroad would have to be confirmed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, Legislature and Metro Council, and that the state is committed to working out any liability issues. The land-ownership dispute stems from a 100-foot right-of-way on either side of the tracks that run parallel to the Mississippi River over the site.
Holden laid out two options for getting $40 million in site-preparation costs from the state. The city-parish will ask for either a large portion of capital-outlay funds up front with the rest of the appropriations stretched out over an 18-year term, or a combination of capital-outlay, megafund and other economic-development monies. If the land liability and state funding are not resolved, the bond issue would reduce itself from $901 million to $675 million over 30 years. Holden says the process is no different from any other large-scale project, citing a land dispute over the New Orleans Convention Center and funding issues with Charity Hospital. “This is not something we are inventing in terms of this bond issue,” he says. “We are following the spirit of the law and examples that have been set for many years in regards to what we’re trying to do.”
Holden says he is comfortable with the economic projections for Alive. The administration anticipates that if Alive attendance falls short, the cost would range from $1 million to $3 million to be absorbed by the city-parish. “We do not see that happening because there are naming rights and a lot of other things out there we are looking at bringing in to fill any anticipated deficit or any deficit we see looming on the horizon,” he says.
