BY LUCY MAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Backers of the Broadway Commons ballpark site will proceed with a countywide ballot initiative to try to force Hamilton County to build a Reds stadium at the site, Cincinnati City Councilman Todd Portune said Friday.
"Today we begin a process to restore a sense of order and fairness to the decision of siting a new Reds baseball stadium in Cincinnati and Hamilton County," Mr. Portune said in a statement.
The vehicle for the stadium vote will be the creation of a county charter. Article I of the charter would state that county government will operate as it does now except for Article II. Article II would require that the county build a new Reds ballpark at Broadway Commons, the site at Broadway and Reading Road.
Supporters of the plan must collect 26,800 signatures by July 24 to get the measure on the ballot. Supporters will start circulating petitions today, restaurant owner Jim Tarbell said.
Last week, Mr. Portune unveiled a plan to amend Cincinnati's charter to block a riverfront stadium. He preferred the county approach because county voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase in 1996 to fund stadium construction.
County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus and County Auditor Dusty Rhodes blasted the countywide plan this week, saying it could lead to drastic changes in county government. Mr. Bedinghaus argued it could take power away from cities and townships within Hamilton County.
But Mr. Tarbell and Mr. Portune, both ardent Broadway backers, said the measure is just a way to give county voters a say in stadium siting.
"Bob Bedinghaus' scare tactics are a misrepresentation of the effort," Mr. Portune's statement said. "County Government is preserved As Is."
County and team officials are closing in on a deal to build a ballpark at the Baseball on Main site, also known as the "Wedge," next to The Crown.
Reds officials worked last week to persuade suspended Reds CEO Marge Schott to sign a Wedge deal. Mrs. Schott doesn't talk to reporters about the matter. Mr. Tarbell said she has told him she doesn't like the Wedge site and would consider Broadway.
An announcement about a preliminary deal, called a memorandum of understanding, could come any day.
But Mr. Tarbell said such an announcement wouldn't affect the petition drive since, unlike a lease, a memorandum of understanding isn't binding. If a petition drive begins, Mr. Tarbell said he doesn't think commissioners would try to sign a binding lease before a vote in November.
Mr. Bedinghaus prefers a riverfront site, and Commission President Tom Neyer Jr. said he would approve a riverfront deal, too.
Commissioner John Dowlin is the lone Broadway advocate among the commissioners. But he said Friday that he has not been working on the ballot initiative and hasn't decided whether he thinks it's a good idea.
Commission candidate Marilyn Hyland, a Broadway backer running against Mr. Neyer, said she understands the frustration of the people behind the ballot initiative. But it's unnecessary, she said.
"Hyland vs. Neyer offers clear choices and approaches," she said.
But Mr. Tarbell argued that the ballot initiative is better because it's binding.
"We need something legally binding," he said. "These guys don't get the point."
For petitions, call 721-6571.
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