Our Voice: A ‘yes’ vote on The Link benefits everyone

The Tri-Cities is in desperate need of more convention and entertainment space.

We are losing business and opportunities that can’t be accommodated at the Three Rivers Convention Center to other markets.

The latest proposal to solve that issue is called The Link. It’s a 110,000-square-foot multipurpose entertainment center that would bridge the space between the existing convention center and the Toyota Center. It would include a 2,300-seat Broadway theater, expanded space for the convention center and improvements to the aging Toyota Center.

The rub is that to make the $35 million project a reality, Kennewick voters must approve a two-tenths of 1 percent sales tax increase when they cast their ballots in August. We know no one likes a new tax in any form, but sales tax-based initiatives are really a different breed. Instead of taxing property owners in the city, anyone who buys taxable items shares the burden. And an increased sales tax is beneficial for more than just this project — those funds also help pay for important services.

The state gets the bulk of our sales tax dollars but for every dollar Kennewick does receive, that money goes toward police, fire and parks services, just to name a few important programs. So even if you don’t frequent the convention center or the events at the Toyota Center, your sales tax dollars are still helping the community’s basic functions.

Voters in Kennewick need to understand that they hold the cards in this vote but they don’t bear the burden of funding it alone. Anybody who spends dollars on items that include sales tax in Kennewick will be, in turn, helping fund the project.

Conventions and regional entertainment held at the Three Rivers campus are huge economic drivers across our community, not just in Kennewick. Attendees fan out to hotels and restaurants across all cities, fill their gas tanks and often their shopping bags at area retailers. Tri-Cities is a regional shopping destination and Kennewick is home to places where many of those big dollars are spent, like the mall and Costco. Those visitors coming to restock supplies or buy new furniture or other items will all help pay for The Link. It’s a good deal.

And a necessary one. Our community cannot thrive as it should without it. Big ag conferences have said they may have to leave for other markets due to lack of space. Others already have. Spokane is drawing huge business with its recently completed voter-approved $55 million expansion of its convention facilities. We need to stay competitive.

Backers of the plan tried and failed a smaller version of the plan with voters in 2013. Their marketing efforts were weak, and educating voters is critical on a matter where one segment of our community carries the power of the vote on something of regional significance. And even though they were asking for less money at that time, there proposed tax was perpetual with no end date. That’s always a sticking point on a capital project. At some point it should be paid for, right? In the new initiative, the tax will sunset in 15 to 20 years.

If voters approve the tax, which they should, it will prohibit the Regional Public Facilities District from seeking a sales tax increase for a project because The Link project uses the full taxing authority for public facilities in Kennewick. Two years ago the Regional PFD failed in its one and only attempt to get Tri-City voters to approve a project. In the face of that failure, local jurisdictions are prepared to step up and tackle regional projects individually. It may not be the ideal approach, in theory, but it’s likely the only viable way, at this time, to provide the public amenities the Tri-Cities so sorely needs.

Our community needs The Link. We implore Kennewick voters to give it their support on the ballot for the betterment of the community as a whole.

This story was originally published July 15, 2016 at 7:22 PM with the headline "Our Voice: A ‘yes’ vote on The Link benefits everyone."