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SPECIAL MEETING NOVEMBER 30, 2010 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Safety Local Income Tax and that is generating somewhere between 5 and 6 million <br />dollars for the City of South Bend, where they are using to fund firefighters and police <br />officers and is allowing the city to fully staff both departments rather than if they did not <br />have access to those funds it would have forced the city to reduce staff in both the fire <br />department and police department. Those dollars are being used for exactly what they <br />are supposed to be used. The Mayor noted that it is a county wide tax and is distributed <br />county wide to the various departments of government. The third component was again <br />an additional two-tenths of a percent Economic Development Income Tax which he <br />proposed to the Council should be used for capital projects and investments in city <br />facilities and infrastructure and investment in Economic Development initiatives as they <br />move forward rather than for operating expenses. He noted that they reduced their <br />operating costs and then with the benefit of the public safety income tax it really reached <br />a streamline. In terms of the County Option Income Tax (COIT), those dollars are <br />collected on a county wide basis and are distributed on a county wide basis. So towns <br />receive a portion of that, St. Joseph County receives a portion of that and the City of <br />South Bend receives a portion of that. Residents that live outside of South Bend and <br />Mishawaka are paying a tax but also receive a portion of that tax that is collected not just <br />the City’s. Those dollars being paid by county residents for the most part are going to <br />county government and Mishawaka to Mishawaka. He stated that it’s not a one for one <br />necessarily because of the distribution formulas set by the State of Indiana but those <br />dollars are returned to those units of government that represent them. <br /> <br />Councilmember Oliver Davis wanted to know the percentage of upkeep at the Cove over <br />the past 25 years that has been paid for using private dollars. <br /> <br />Mayor Luecke stated that over the lifetime of the Cove to date the private dollars that <br />have been used have primarily been from the team. They have been from rent for the use <br />of the facility. They have also made some contributions to the capital fund, a ticket <br />surcharge when the attendance reaches a certain level. The team has invested in upgrades <br />to the concession stands and equipment that is used at the cove. So that is the primary <br />source of private dollars. He stated that he is not aware of the City approaching local <br />businesses in terms of sponsorship. <br /> <br />Joe Kernan, President, Silverhawks, 114 E. Pokagon, South Bend, Indiana, stated that <br />since the team has been here they have rented/leased the facility. He noted that they are <br />the tenant. He stated four years ago the team was threatening or had a deal to move the <br />franchise from South Bend. The prospect was that the team was going to be gone, moved <br />to Southern Illinois. He stated that would have left South Bend with one of the nicest <br />high school fields in the Country. He stated that South Bend would have lost <br />professional baseball in the community, however that deal fell through. It fell through <br />because of the ownership of other teams in the league, who make up the Board of <br />Directors for the Midwest League and they believed that South Bend had been a good <br />franchise, geographically located in the middle of the league and in 1988 the prototype of <br />what a new minor league facility was looking like. People were coming from all over the <br />country to South Bend to look at the Cove because of the quality of the facility. They <br />wanted to keep the team in South Bend. When that happened it gave the opportunity to <br />be able to pull together a group of mostly local investor’s but not all to pull together the <br />money that was necessary to buy the team. So when you talk about investment’s that <br />have been made in the team and the stadium the fact is that the local investors group has <br />invested in excess of 7 million dollars in keeping the franchise here. The local investors <br />group is made up of approximately 50 different people, mostly from within the <br />community. He stated that they pay their rent which is mostly used for maintenance and <br />upkeep of the stadium and as the Mayor had stated made additional contributions which <br />he referred to as small capital contributions relative to the concessions stands and things <br />of that concern. In terms of soliciting other business in the community that’s what they <br />do. They are actively seeking private business since the end of the season because they <br />want them to come to the Cove. To put signs on the outfield wall, to sponsor the picnic <br />area, they want them to bring their workforce out to have a picnic, we want them to rent <br />the upperdeck, rent suites, and that has been ongoing for 25 years. That has been critical <br />to the team being fiscally and financial stable. To get those revenues and to assist them <br />in paying the expenses they have over the course of a season. That is what goes on in <br /> 8 <br /> <br />