Eau Claire City Council will pledge $5 million toward the cost of the Confluence Project arts center — a move heralded as the first step to ground breaking.

The 8-3 council vote, Tuesday, will help fund the project if a slew of conditions, such as securing money from the state and county, are met first.

“This is really the next step to bring it to the governmental bodies,” City Manager Russell Van Gompel said. “I think the developer is looking for the city to say we’re willing to participate in the process. So, the next step is to take it to the state of Wisconsin.”

Eau Claire citizens turned out in droves for a public hearing Monday. UW-Eau Claire Student Body President Bryan Larson spoke in support of the Confluence Project during the hearing.

“The student body fully supports the Confluence Project and so does our student government,” Larson said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a project that has more unanimous support than does the confluence.”

Council also struck down an amendment 7-4 that would have tied the
pledge to a yes vote on a city-wide referendum at its Tuesday meeting.
Mike Bollinger organized the Confluence Referendum Committee. The committee will need to gather about 3,500 signatures to get a referendum on the ballot this spring.

Bollinger, along with other Eau Claire residents who spoke at Monday’s meeting, said there were too many questions surrounding the project to commit to a pledge.

VenuWorks, an Ames, Iowa-based consulting company found the Confluence Project would run in the black by about $100,000 in its first year of operation.

But Bollinger said he questions some of the numbers in the VenuWorks report, and many of those questions weren’t answered in meetings with council members.

“Professionally I look at models,” Bollinger said. “So I sent a letter to city council and the press outlining my concerns with the (VenuWorks) report. The operation components were troublesome and continue to remain troublesome.”

Council voted 10-1, Tuesday, to postpone a referendum decision until its next meeting Nov. 12.

City attorney Steven Nick said a referendum won’t derail council’s pledge, but could disrupt parts of the project council hasn’t acted on.

The city’s pledge goes toward the $51 million arts center.

The arts center needs $25 million from state funding along with $5 million from Eau Claire county. The rest of the arts center construction costs come from private donations and tax credits.

Council hasn’t yet addressed $5.9 million in infrastructure improvements needed to launch the arts center.

A second $25 million confluence building — featuring dorms, classrooms and performance spaces — still needs private funding to take off.

Wisconsin Poet Laureate Max Garland spoke in favor of council’s pledge during Monday’s meeting. He said an arts center would help the city
retain top university talent.

Garland, who also teaches English at Eau Claire, said Wisconsin ranks 48th in the nation in per capita support for the arts at 13 cents, while Minnesota ranks first.

“While many unanswered questions loom, we are behind a lot of places in this,” Garland said. “The longer we linger, the happier the other arts centers are. I never knew how much competition there is for some of the benefits, both financial and cultural.”