Business
GBAD Seeks To Use Room Tax To Build Competition For Hoteliers
April 10, 2015 
In an exclusive deal with downtown developer Gardner Company, the Greater Boise Auditorium District has entered into an agreement that would use public land purchased with room tax revenues to build a 200-300 room “nationally flagged” hotel.
Terms became public Thursday when the GBAD board voted 3-1 to appeal to the Idaho Supreme Court their second court defeat in seven months . Judge Lynn Norton recently turned down a petition for judicial confirmation, ruling the financing should go to the voters for approval.
Part of this latest proposal includes a trade or cash payment as part of the offer to acquire condo space in Gardner’s new building on the Centre in exchange for the GBAD land west of the new Simplot “JUMP” project. (DISCLOSURE: GUARDIAN editor Dave Frazier has challenged GBAD’s petitions on constitutional grounds that voters are denied a chance to approve the debt financing of the public projects.) Read the details of the proposed deal DOC040915-04092015152302.
The GUARDIAN found no opposition from hoteliers, even though on the face of it, existing or recently planned hotels would face competition from a big hotel with “insider ties” to GBAD. The memorandum of understanding between GBAD and Gardner calls for any new hotel to have certain facilities, but not to compete with GBAD for meeting space and services.
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Comments & Discussion
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Apr 10, 2015, 6:36 pm
So now GBAD is going to take the case to the Supreme Court – the same folks that ruled on the other “schemes” that Boise City tried. They must have so much money that they feel good wasting it.
They must have the same lawyer that St Luke’s has- or maybe Mr. Pate the CEO from St Luke’s is their advisor. It doesn’t matter how many laws they try to break – they are just so much smarted than anyone else.
Pride proceeded the fall.
Apr 10, 2015, 10:17 pm
I’m going to stamp my feet and hold my breath. . .
Apr 11, 2015, 9:26 am
Gardner has another exclusive no bid agreement and the value of the property they want has not been revealed. Sniff sniff
Apr 11, 2015, 1:10 pm
I dream of a day when the powerful psychopaths who’ve been running their crafty schemes end up sharing a prison cell with a big, mean guy named Bubba who thinks they are kinda cute.