Eau Claire (WQOW) - Monday night the word "vague" was used many times in the discussion about a major project for downtown Eau Claire.
Developers of the Confluence Project are asking the city council for a vote of support. By now, you've probably heard about plans for a community arts center, retail space and student housing, enough for 375 students.
It's a public-private partnership and there are many hurdles that have to be cleared. One is funding through the UW-Board of Regents. The board will look at the project next week at its meeting. The Eau Claire City Council is being asked to express support for the project and encourage the board to consider the Confluence Project a high priority project in its next budget.
At Monday night's meeting both the public and city council members were looking for more specific answers to their questions about the project. "If we're going to put subsidies into the project, is it viable, is it feasible? You know, some of the numbers that are there, as I had raised earlier, on the number of tickets they were talking about selling, and the number of room revenue they are going to raise, these are things we need to know the answers to before we make a final decision," says Eau Claire City Council member, Bob Von Haden.
Some council members have said if they were to give their support, it would not lock them in for decisions that need to be made down the road. This is just the first step of many. The city council will vote on a resolution of support at its meeting Tuesday afternoon.
