No bill from Fred Nance

Submitted by Roldo on Fri, 05/16/2008 - 14:41.

Some people just must have too much money.

Fred Nance of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey hasn’t submitted a bill yet to Cuyahoga County for his work on the $900 million deal for a medical mart and convention center. He’s the county’s lawyer on these matters.

Thus far, Nance has completed the first phase of the deal which involved examining different financing structures and working out a memo of understanding with MMPI (Merchandize Mart Properties, Inc.).

That was worth up to $50,000 in legal fees.

Nance and the County are in the second phase, which is working out a lease involving the development agreement that’s worth another $50,000 in legal fees. Nance says that these negotiations will still take months to accomplish.

His third segment of work for the County will be to finish all aspects of the deal, including the financing structure. That will cost up to $75,000.

So in all, though no bill has been submitted, the expertise of Mr. Nance and Squire-Sanders will cost up to $175,000.

Well, not quite all.

Nance mentioned he had read where I called the deal a $900 million deal when the building cost will be $400 million. Yes, I added in the interest (and other incidentals) since, as I told him, that’s a cost to the public. He demurred some by saying that if you buy a house at a certain amount that’s what you call the cost of the house, you don’t add in the interest and say the house cost the price plus interest. Well, when I’m talking about the public cost, I certainly do add in the interest because that’s what a public body has to pay with public funds.

That financing will be done with bonds. “And you will do the bonds,” I suggested.

“Ah, yeah,” said Nance. So the $175,000 is really going to pale in what Cuyahoga County will eventually, some day, pay Squire-Sanders.

I guess none of us shouldn’t worry whether Squire-Sanders has submitted a bill.

It will come.

 

 

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All taking pieces of all action

There are lots of silver bullet projects and transactions happening right now, with a small group of people in the middle of everything, including Nance. There are so many ways he will make money and get advantages from this, they may never be known. On top of that, I'm sure he is so rich that he would never need to collect a fee for legal services again in his life. I'd say he is more of a power-broker and Don than attorney.

What will be most interesting is to see who pays $3-4 million for the top condos of Wolstein's new Cleveland #1 Hotel complex, as that will be a nice payback for services rendered. May King James and a bunch of Cavs have a new court? They are building an exclusive little paradise-fortress there, with our money, that I know none of us will ever visit.

Disrupt IT

Dear Fred Nance

Help me with the math.

If I bought a home for $70,000 in 1990 and today I still owe $70,000 (bonds or no bonds) how is that a $70,000 home? If I write a check today it is a s$140,000 home right?.

I don't get your math. "That financing will be done with bonds." Whatever...

If the medcon will cost $450 million, then what does the county plan to finance with the rest of the $800 million it will raise from the 20 year sales tax increase?

How come the Cleveland City Planning Director pooh-poohs any sites besides the Mall and Tower City when now three more sites have been floated out there? Are the three blind mice just toying with us? (If they are, I say ahem... get a freakin' job and stop screwing around on our dime.) They should float out the idea of a retrofit of the IX Center and rescind the sales tax increase in two years.

Waste not want not. What sort of families did these guys grow up in anyway? Was it OK to waste food while people are starving? Not in my home it wasn't. These sorts of shenanigans are considered impure thoughts in even a secular upbringing.