Durham panel lists meal-tax projects

DURHAM -- A committee of Durham county commissioners and City Council members approved a wish list Tuesday of projects to pay for with a 1 percent prepared-food tax.

The group also began plotting strategy for persuading voters to approve the tax in November.

The tax is expected to bring in an estimated $5 million a year to start and to steadily increase by a factor of 4.5 percent.

The list approved Tuesday consists of $59.6 million in capital projects to start within the next nine years; $7 million would be paid in cash and $52.6 from bonds to be serviced by food-tax income.

The wish list provides $14 million for a minor-league baseball museum and $14 million to expand the Hayti Heritage Center, $6 million to improve the Civic Center, $5.5 million for the Museum of Life & Science. Smaller amounts were allocated for other projects. Among them were the Durham Arts Council and Carolina Theatre, Durham Central Park, a local-history museum and a "museum without walls" on Parrish Street.

Eighty percent of the tax revenue would go for visitor attractions, 10 percent for marketing and 5 percent each for work-force development and beautification. No more than 3 percent of gross income can go for administrative costs.