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McKelvey, Council Members Lambast Business Journal Article"
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Second Ward Councilman Rufus Hudson has only one piece of advice for businessman Bruce Zoldan: "Either put up or shut up."Hudson made the comments at last night's City Council meeting. He was responding to an article published in the MidDecember edition of The Business Journal that featured Zoldan questioning the city's plan to provide gap financing for the Youngstown Convocation Center, now under construction downtown.Hudson said he was confused as to why The Business Journal would devote two and a half pages of coverage to a businessman who has no vested interest in the project but feels the need to criticize how the project is being handled. "We are committed to the project and are moving forward," he declared.Zoldan, the president and chief executive officer of B.J. Alan Co. , Youngstown, and an early proponent of building an arena downtown, said in the Business Journal article he is concerned the city will be left holding the bag for millions of dollars in order to complete the $41 million facility should additional financing -- such as a $4.8 million grant through Ohio's sports facilities commission -- fall through. Moreover, he is also wary of taxpayer money being spent to subsidize the developer, Global Entertainment Corp. of Phoenix, which has yet to contribute any private dollars to the venture. Zoldan also owns the Ice Zone, a dual ice rink facility in Boardman, and the Youngstown Phantoms, an amateur hockey team affiliated with the North American Hockey League. In the article, he counseled individuals and organizations in the community to move cautiously before investing any of their own money in suites or luxury seating until a full financing plan is unveiled to the public."The success of the project depends on selling these seats," Hudson fumed. The councilman also took issue with the decision to interview Zoldan, but not Herb Washington, the local businessman who has pledged $1 million to secure a minor league hockey franchise of the Central Hockey League to play in the center. "I think it's offensive. They didn't talk to the man who has invested $1 million of his own money," he said. Washington was interviewed for a story published online and in the December edition of The Business Journal about his selection as owner of the CHL franchise. The MidDecember Business Journal also featured an interview with Jeff Kossow, recently named as executive director of the convocation center. Mayor George M. McKelvey, who was quoted repeatedly in the story defending the city's position, then joined in the Business Journal-bashing: "It's beyond me that the paper that represents itself as a business paper with the obligation to promote business in the community wouldn't go and interview Herb Washington. Instead, they run to a critic," he chided.He then called The Business Journal a "hate-filled publication. The editor [Andrea Wood] has allowed her personal hatred of me to influence her objectivity." McKelvey also noted his words are often distorted in the paper, not to mention the numerous cartoons that have appeared on the publication's editorial pages lampooning the mayor."It's tragic for the city," the mayor continued. McKelvey noted an official from Compass Facilities Management, the city's consultant on the project, called him saying the company has provided services for projects all over the country and has never seen this type of reaction before in a community. "They couldn't understand why our business paper attacks a successful project."McKelvey then assailed the Journal's past coverage of the convocation center, ranging from questions regarding the purchase of the 26-acres of land between the Market Street and South Avenue bridges and development of the property. "Everything they've reported has been proven wrong. They are muck. They are sick," he noted."It's bad for Youngstown," McKelvey said. "I would publicly request that council continue to ignore the criticism."First Ward Councilman Artis Gillam added that the Business Journal should not be singled out, since it was not the only publication or media outlet to heap criticism on the project. He said the mayor was ignoring other critical coverage by WFMJ-TV 21 and Bertram deSousa, columnist for The Vindicator."