By Adam Allington, St. Louis Public Radio
St. Louis –
The Midwest-China Hub Commission is spending big to lobby Chinese companies to route their exports through Lambert Airport in St. Louis, and Lambert Airport has announced plans to build a new 40-million dollar air freight terminal.
St. Louis County Economic Development Council is expected to approve payment Wednesday of $931,000 to former DHL executive Guenter Rohrmann to negotiate with the Chinese.
The money doesn't guarantee anything, but Hub Commission Chairman Mike Jones says at least it buys St. Louis a seat at the negotiating table.
"We're going to know in six to seven months if we can do this," Jones said. "We won't have a deal, but you'll know if there are deals out there that are sufficient to make St. Louis viable."
St. Charles County is kicking in $80,000 toward the lobbying effort. County Councilwomen Cheryl Hibbeler says that's not the best use of taxpayer money at a time when revenue is low.
"Eighty thousand dollars out of St. Charles County general fund is an awful lot of money for a project that we're just not so sure is going to really come to fruition," Hibbeler said. "It's really a long-shot gamble at this time."
Hibbeler points out that St. Louis County's contribution did not come out of a general fund, but from a federal grant.