DevelopOhio

A new, nearly finalized 30-year deal in which the Cincinnati City Council leases its parking system to the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority and privatizes the city's parking meters, lots and garages has been controversial since its inception, but now new issues are plaguing the deal, Cincinnati Enquirer and Local12.com report. Under the terms of the deal, which both parties signed on June 21, the port authority will receive a "one-time, upfront payment of $319,125 and about $300,000 each year of the deal," and the city is promised "$92 million upfront and $3 million a year." Last week, however, a public records request from the Enquirer revealed that the port's President and CEO Laura Brunner had asked Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls to give the port authority one-third of the city's upfront payment, or $27 million, so that the port authority can begin to provide funding for other multimillion-dollar real estate and redevelopment projects. "The idea of the port taking a share of the money was not made public or discussed by City Council before the lease was approved," according to the article, which prompted the port authority's Vice-Chair Lynn Marmer to say in an email that the city had "lied" to the public about the budget. The port authority board has a 75-day window to review the lease agreement that ends Sept. 4. Qualls defended Brunner's request, saying the city needs to support the port authority's identified projects because they are "consistent with the city's adopted economic development policy." For more, read the full Cincinnati Enquirer story and the Local12.com story.