Supporters say Northern Kentucky riverfront project should be big, audacious - Business First of Buffalo:

http://nolaer.net/education/michael-gove-ducks-question-over-deletion-of-private-emails/
Although the $170 million price tag for the expanded Riverfront Commons project is leaders of and believe it could spur new development oncethe nation’a economic storm has passed. The Riverfront Commons pro­jectt proposed by Southbank several years ago now encompassese the Licking River Greenway and Trail s project proposed by Vision Northern Kentucky’s regional planning initiative.
The expanded project repair erosion problems along both the Ohio and Licking build walkways and bike paths along both and extendthe project’ s footprint to include such elements as a tramway to connec t Devou Park to Mainstrasse Village in downtown All that boosts the project’s estimatesd cost to $170 million far higher than the $50 million price tag for the originapl Riverfront Commons plan. Tough times? Be bold Southbank Partners Presideng Bill Scheyer argues that the lousy econom y is no reason tothink small. “When time are difficult, it actually sometimes createe an opportunity for planning for the he said. “Waiting would not benefit us.
We need to try to creatde the vision, make the economic case and then begin to sell that conceprtto everybody.” And it seems so far, just about everybodyu is sold. Vision 2015 has won suppory forthe pro­ject among communitty groups and residents, and Southbank has convincede city and county government leaders of the project’ws worth and value, said Vision 2015 President John President Steve Stevens said business leaders have been too. After all, securing funding for the projectf was high on the list of prioritie s when the chamber took a grou p to meet with congressional leadersin D.C., earlier this year.
“When you’re tryinbg to arrange funding, you have a tendencyt to break things downinto bit-sized But if you do that and only you have a tendency to mask the overallk vision, which is really the part that stirz men’s souls and funders’ Domaschko said. “This kind of takes the cove r off the overall vision in the eyes of funder and shows how exciting thiscan Already, the Riverfront Commons project has secured federal fundw that paid for a study to plot the scope of the projecyt and help determine what’s needed to address the erosion problemds along the riverfront.
Scheyer wants to rais e $335,000 this year to continue the consulting work andpay 20/20 a high-powered Washington, D.C., firm that Southbank has hired to lobby for additiona federal funds. In just two months, Southbank raised $170,000 from loca l governments and private citizens who want to see the projec tmove forward. Local governments have been willinbto contribute, despite their own financial woes, because they understandr the impact the project could have for the regiom long-term, said Covington Mayor Denny Bowman. “Our job is not to just do a renderinh and not to just do a study but to continu e all efforts to see that we implement the Bowman said.
“It takes Already, Southbank and Vision 2015 have startesd to combine the governancew groups for the Ohio River and Lickin g River projects that were once separate And leaders inNorthern Kentucky’s river citiesx – from Bellevue to Bromley – have voiced support for the said Bellevue Mayor Jack Meyer, who is chairma of . “We would reallg be doing an injustice if we just sat back andsaid let’sx put this on hold until things get better,” Meye r said. And with the federal stimulus dollars flowin gfrom Washington, D.C.
, the project’s proponents hope they can win some by makingf the case that the broader project wouldf help the environment, give residents more recreational opportunitiesz and spur economic development all at the same time. “It’s difficuly to say how great the opportunities are for obtaining saidRoger Peterman, a partner with and chairmabn of . “But if we aren’t prepared, it’ws never going to happen.” Scheyer said the lobbying firm Southbanm hired has important connections in Congress that he hopews will help the community make its And CongressmanGeoff Davis, Sen. Jim Bunningb and Sen. Mitch McConnelkl all have been supportivse inthe past, he said.
Above all, said the chamber’d Stevens, everyone realizes that a project of this magnitud willtake time. The key, he is to get starteed and make the case with aunited “This economy’s going to turn Peterman said. “And we need to be positionedd to take advantageof that.”