Headlines

1. Milwaukee county executive is overzealous about privatization
2. Columbus schools might outsource meals
3. Virginia: VDOT nixes privatization
4. NJ: Senate gets its first look at Corzine’s toll program
5. Tulsa enters pact with minor league team over stadium

1. Milwaukee county executive is overzealous about privatization
Michael May writes in his Milwaukee Biz blog that he parts ways with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s over privatization: "I disagree with his comments regarding privatization of county assets, including our airports, golf courses and parks. No formal proposals for the privatization of General Mitchell International Airport (GMIA) have been presented to Milwaukee County. But beyond that, I question why we would privatize an entity that requires no property taxes for its operation and provides 240 family supporting jobs. Their salaries are fully covered by fees paid by airlines and passengers. We have always worked well with the airlines that serve the airport. In fact, GMIA was ranked the fourth-best airport in the United States by Conde Nast Traveler magazine, ranking No. 1 for ease of connections."

2. Columbus schools might outsource meals
Columbus schools are considering privatizing most or all of their food-service operation in an effort to save money, potentially eliminating between 90 and 450 positions, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Superintendent Gene Harris recommended that the district outsource all its food-preparation operations for kindergarten through eighth grade by next school year, a plan that would eliminate about 90 food-worker jobs.

3. Virginia: VDOT nixes privatization
The Virginia Department of Transportation announced last week that it’s shelving discussions that would invite private investment into part of its highway system., reports The Bond Buyer (subscription). “I have directed VDOT to terminate all activities related to the [Public Private Transportation Act] procurement of improvements along the I-81 corridor,” said VDOT commissioner David Ekern in a statement. The commonwealth had been in talks with former Halliburton Inc. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root Click for Enhanced Coverage Linking Searchesto use private investment to fund improvements to a portion of the state’s highway system. But a Dec. 18 request from KBR that it did not wish to pursue the project led to VDOT’s decision to terminate all debate regarding the project. In 2007, KBR separated from Halliburton to become its own publicly traded company, and said in its withdrawal request that it needed to “manage its business profile very carefully.” The proposed plan would have established a truck-specific toll for the 325-mile stretch of highway, which earned criticism from the trucking community. The state had been in talks regarding the highway since February 2004.

4. NJ: Senate gets its first look at Corzine’s toll program
New Jersey state senators voiced concern yesterday about the nature of the public benefit corporation that would be created to manage state toll roads under the Corzine administration’s plan to leverage the highways to pay down New Jersey’s debt, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. Central to the concerns expressed at a Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee hearing on Gov. Corzine’s plan to shore up state finances was what role – if any – the Legislature will have in overseeing the public benefit corporation, known as the PBC.

5. Tulsa enters pact with minor league team over stadium
Tulsa officials hope to lure the city’s minor league baseball team to a proposed new $70 million downtown stadium during negotiations over the next four months, according to The Bond Buyer (subscription). Mayor Kathy Taylor announced on Tuesday that the city has signed an exclusive agreement with Tulsa Drillers owner Chuck Lamson to work out a deal for the team to play in a new stadium to be built on a 16-acre parcel on the eastern side of downtown, six blocks west of the BOK Center. The 7,000-seat baseball stadium was to be the centerpiece of a $1 billion project on a 300-acre site along the Arkansas River. Financing options are a part of the negotiations, but city officials said they expect the stadium would be built with a mixture of public and private funds that could include revenue bonds supported by an increase in the city’s 5% hotel-motel tax. Tulsa may support a move in the upcoming legislative session to amend Oklahoma’s Local Development and Enterprise Zone Incentive Leverage Act to provide state matching funds for at least part of the city’s portion of the stadium project, Taylor said. Additional public funds could come from the sale of city-owned properties around the stadium site, said Jack Crowley, the mayor’s special adviser on urban planning. "This project will generate a lot of activity in downtown and increase the value of those lots," Crowley said. "It is a fantastic opportunity to leverage the city’s dollars through a public-private partnership. We don’t want to miss the boat." The proposed stadium will include 6,000 permanent seats, luxury boxes, and additional seating on grassy berms that could bring total capacity to approximately 10,000.