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| (The Birmingham News/Tamika Moore) |
Birmingham city officials have started appointing members of the board that will oversee construction and financing of a downtown baseball stadium and museum, but it will be weeks before members are seated and officially hire a team for the project.
Mayor William Bell last week announced a team of builders, architects and managers for the project along First Avenue South, but the list must be approved by the Public Athletic, Cultural and Entertainment Facilities Board, known as PACE.
The mayor's announcement raised the ire of several council members who said Bell overstepped his authority and the agreements the council approved last month.
"We assembled the best and brightest, most qualified firms that met the mayor's expectations of completing the project on budget and on time, keeping in mind certain criteria," Bell's chief of staff, Chuck Faush, said in an interview.
However, according to the agreement approved by the council, PACE "may select a developer, construction manager, contractor and design professionals for the stadium, all of which shall be acceptable to the Barons in its reasonable discretion ..." The city plans to build a $60 million baseball park and museum near Railroad Park. The Birmingham Barons are expected to play there beginning in 2013.
"Members of the mayor's staff should not be making announcements about things that are someone else's responsibility," said Councilwoman Valerie Abbott.
"It looks bad, even if there's no bad intent there."
An earlier draft agreement would have allowed PACE to delegate its duties to the mayor. That provision was rejected by the council and removed. The city has a reservation for the PACE name with the state secretary of state, but the process isn't complete, and PACE has not held its inaugural meeting.
When pressed, Faush came short of explicitly saying that the list of team members is the board's decision and could change.
"There's always a possibility of variations with anything, but you do the best you can to be prepared," he said.
Faush said the next step for the board is completing the incorporation process, then obtaining final agreements with the University of Alabama System board of trustees, the city's partner in a land swap to assemble property for the site.
Bell last week announced that 60 percent of the construction and design team for the ballpark consists of minority firms, and most of the team is based in Birmingham. Officials said the project will create 500 jobs with a payroll of more than $18 million.
Leading the team as the announced developers are Corporate Realty Development and Brasfield & Gorrie. Both companies worked with Bell's office on project development, although neither had officially been hired to lead the team. Corporate Realty was an early proponent of the stadium and commissioned a study on its feasibility.
Councilwoman Kim Rafferty also questioned the announcement.
"I'm not very confident with the integrity of this team because it is preempting the process," she said.
Councilwoman Maxine Parker said the conflict is a consequence of the council's approval of documents before reviewing them. While the group met with Bell and agreed to revisions, the final drafts were not prepared before the council's vote. Bell has promised to deliver the final printed versions.
"That's why I had to abstain on that vote, because I couldn't see the final draft," Parker said. "I don't know what they can do or can't do."
There are currently three members on the PACE board, which is to have five members. Bell, who selected the first three, agreed that the council would have a say in choosing the final two members.
Council President Roderick Royal, a vocal critic of the entire project, called confusion inevitable. Royal said the council is accepting applications for the two PACE openings and will meet later this month to select members.
"It doesn't surprise me that decisions have been made in place of the PACE board, because that was the intent all along," Royal said.
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