Official says lease proposal for Farm Show Complex won’t affect operations
Photo by Joe Ulrich
(Harrisburg) — Governor Tom Wolf is hoping to turn to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg to plug up an estimated $2 billion budget deficit.
Wolf’s budget proposes a lease-leaseback arrangement.
Wolf’s administration hopes that a private firm would pay the Commonwealth $200 million upfront, then lease the Farm Show Complex back to the state.
Pennsylvania would then pay back the private investor over the next 29 years, with a guaranteed rate of return.
The arrangement could be compared to a home equity loan.
Michael Smith with the state Department of Agriculture says visitors won’t notice any changes, if the proposal goes through.
“It will continue to be a facility that is owned, operated, and managed by the Commonwealth. All the staff will continue to be employed by the Commonwealth. So, at the end of the day, there effectively is no change or effect on the operations at the facility,” says Smith.
“This is simply a financing instrument. Ownership and the operations of the facility will remain under the Department of Agriculture and the Commonwealth’s jurisdiction,” he adds.
Smith says they don’t have a timetable for when they would reach a deal with a private firm on the Farm Show Complex investment.He says the Wolf administration is confident that a private entity would be interested in the deal, and says $200 million is fair-market value.
Some Republicans – who have approved budgets with one-time funds in the past – say they’re skeptical about the Governor’s plan.
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