Sandusky, Cedar Fair deal excites locals

SANDUSKY — The $100 million milestone agreement struck by Cedar Fair, Cedar Point's parent company, and Sandusky excites many people for varying reasons: • For Tondra Frisby, Sandusky Recreation's youth program supervisor, she's ecstatic about a forthcoming recreation center. Cedar Point did receive the naming rights. "The city and youth win big with a rec center," Frisby said. "Having had the opportunity of operating a successful out-of-school program for close to a decade, I have witnessed firsthand the overwhelmingly positive impact such a place can have on our youth and our community." • For Chris Parthemore, the Sandusky State Theatre's executive director, he's overjoyed with a financial contribution coming from the company. Upon reopening, the theater wants Cedar Point to receive naming rights at its landmark auditorium. "The Sandusky State Theatre is grateful for the support of Cedar Point and the city of Sandusky," Parthemore said. "The leadership displayed by everyone involved shows a long-term commitment to the arts and an understanding of the social and economic value the state theater brings to the region. We are thrilled to be a small piece of this historic deal." • For Dick Brady, the city's ex officio mayor, he's elated with a new causeway guiding traffic in and out of Cedar Point. Many details remain unknown as of today, however, this much is certain: It'll eventually feature an additional lane and a protected bike path as part of the Sandusky Bay Pathway, leading into Cedar Point's beach. "The project provides the ultimate in public access to Lake Erie for our residents," Brady said. "For decades, residents have desired beach access in Sandusky. A variety of locations have been proposed, but many have had insurmountable challenges. An additional causeway lane at Cedar Point will, indeed, be a long project at a cost of millions of dollars, yet, in the end, it will provide our residents with public access to a beautiful beach that can provide everyone with endless recreational activities at no cost to Sandusky citizens." • For Jared Oliver, the city's police chief, he's inspired by new money generated to aid safety services. "This agreement and the resulting new revenue will help renovate/build the new justice center, which is so important for the staff," said Oliver, noting Sandusky's eventual new home for police and municipal court operations. "The revenue is also going to really benefit our department by allowing us to replace and/or obtain some much-needed equipment for our officers. • And for Tom Horsman, the city's communications manager, he's delighted with a new water taxi system, providing an alternative way, via Sandusky Bay, to access Cedar Point. "For much of Cedar Point's history, most people traveled to the peninsula via water transportation from downtown Sandusky. A few years ago, the Jet Express began offering ferry service, connecting downtown and Cedar Point for the first time in decades," Horsman said. "Bringing back frequent water taxi service will be a great asset for both the city of Sandusky and Cedar Point and build upon the active ferry transportation services that currently operate out of downtown." Coming to a compromise In a nutshell, the momentous agreement — exclusively shared with the Register and first reported by the newspaper — reaffirms Cedar Fair's commitment in Sandusky, paves the way for game-changing projects and aims to strengthen partnerships between all who live, work and play in the city. Potentially totaling about $100 million in new investments over a 20-year period, both entities announced this milestone deal exclusively with the Register. Among the most notable details, through a one-of-a-kind financial arrangement, this alliance calls for: • Constructing a new causeway, doubling as Cedar Point's main entranceway; This concept involves extending the Sandusky Bay Pathway onto the highway. Doing so would allow for pedestrian access on the causeway — through a dedicated, protected lane — and then into Cedar Point and its beach. • Building a new recreation center for city residents, with a focus on youth programming, somewhere in Sandusky; It's not known exactly what amenities could get added but these types of facilities often offer basketball courts, swimming pools and workout rooms. • Creating a water taxi system in downtown Sandusky, providing people with an additional way to access Cedar Point; A pending arrangement involves Sandusky and Cedar Fair swapping land: Sandusky would acquire the Boeckling Building and Jet Express pier in downtown, and Cedar Point would get the former Sandusky drive-in movie theater site along Cleveland Road (U.S. 6). Sandusky acquired the property in 2007 after receiving federal grant funds. • Generating funds to further advance economic development and destination-related investments in Sandusky; Officials want to provide businesses with grants and other financial incentive packages to strengthen Sandusky's economy on a year-round basis. • Supporting various programming at the Sandusky State Theatre; The contribution fixates on bringing larger, more notable acts to the venue, particularly during wintertime. • Bolstering vital city services, namely for police, fire, parks, streets and recreation; It's unknown exactly what will get funded today, but officials put an emphasis on replacing outdated equipment for safety services, smoothing out roads and maintaining city parks. • Agreeing that Cedar Fair will maintain a corporate presence in Sandusky; It's unknown exactly how many people will stay and/or get hired, as Cedar Fair didn't reveal those numbers. But executives reiterated they'll continue to have a "comparable corporate presence" in Sandusky going forward as compared to today These negotiations and subsequent agreements resulted from months of behind-the-scenes talks between company executives and city officials, which began this summer. That's when Cedar Fair made moves potentially signaling it would relocate company headquarters to North Carolina. Through this process, however, both sides acknowledged it needs the other to remain viable. That's why, in part, Cedar Fair will maintain a corporate presence in Sandusky and add more full-time employees at Cedar Point. "This historic partnership builds on the foundation of a 150-year relationship to strengthen our city by the lake for generations to come," said Sandusky city manager Eric Wobser, who spearheaded this deal on the local government's behalf. "A thriving Sandusky is critical to Cedar Point reaching its full potential and vice versa," Wobser added. "It took real leadership to make this happen, and I am proud of the Sandusky city commission and Cedar Point for coming together and solidifying Sandusky's status as the premier destination community on the Great Lakes." Carrie Boldman, Cedar Point's vice president and general manager, echoed Wobser's sentiments. "We believe this long-term partnership with the city of Sandusky will solidify our shared interest in enhancing community resources and attracting even more visitors from around the country to our tourism-driven region. Sandusky has been Cedar Point's home for 150 years, and we will continue to make significant investments in the region." Making sense of the dollars and cents Beyond the projects and initiatives, discussions largely revolved around how they would get funded. Sandusky officials steadfastly opposed raising any local tax rate, such as for income. So they came to a compromise: These initiatives, beginning in 2022, will completely get paid by visitors and those buying tickets, such as through season passes, to Cedar Point: • The admissions tax rate will increase from 4% to 8%. It's the amount someone entering Cedar Point or another Sandusky-based, for-profit venue spends on a ticket. Sales from Cedar Point, however, contribute roughly 99% of Sandusky's admissions tax account, which produces about $4 million annually today. • The parking tax will get enacted, an 8% fee on drivers entering Cedar Point. Back in 2003, for one year, and despite Cedar Point's disapproval, Sandusky approved a parking tax. This time around, Cedar Fair executives welcomed the tax. These two tax drivers should create about $4.5 million in new money each year to fund these projects. Friendly chatter Since Thursday's announcement, readers of the Register sounded off on the deal with a majority of comments positive in nature • Annemaria Nicholson: Wow, this is huge for the region. • Mike Mixon: This is beyond huge. I was definitely worried about Cedar Fair relocating to North Carolina, and several residents have spoken about the need for a rec center. These along with a new causeway and ways to access the park are exciting. • Richard Hohler: Even more exciting times ahead. • Bob Stookey: Yep, the city was just sold down the river until Cedar Point becomes a year-round business. Everybody's got short memories: They forgot last year. What if that happens again? • Christopher Frederick Vladimir Kostick: This looks like a tremendous agreement for Sandusky and Cedar Point. • Brandon Fitt: This is great news for the city of Sandusky and all of the surrounding area. • Ed Adams: their existence has been a great lifeline to the Sandusky area for a long time. Kudos for the continued commitment. • David Kopcho: Let's just rename Sandusky to Cedar Fairs, Ohio. • Tish Targoss Keegan (in response to Kopcho): Let's turn away Cedar Fair's money to help Sandusky, sounds like a genius idea. If you don't like how Cedar Fair contributes to the local economy, cough up your dough. • Fred Staffeld: The water taxi would be great, especially if one could take it from multiple points. • Craig Pencheff: That just means prices (are) going way up again. • Clint Lawson: This is awesome news.