Center Board president seeks middle ground on expansion dispute

There might be some middle ground on La Crosse Center expansion plans.

La Crosse Center Board president Brent Smith wants to find some compromises in the disputes over the design plans that have been vetoed by Mayor Tim Kabat.

Wednesday, he said the designs extending into Riverside Park aren’t a sacred cow but there needs to be some discussion.

“Everybody should get together — the mayor, our architects, center board, council president and maybe other representatives — and sit down and see where we’re going here,” Smith said.

Smith added there are other parts of the plan that can also be addressed.

“This is La Crosse, not Washington,” Smith said. “We should try to look to see if we can, maybe modify each of our positions a little bit and see what we can come up with.”

Kabat on Monday vetoed the Center expansion plans approved by the city council last week, objecting primarily to the cost of the $49 million plans and how far into the park the expansion was extending.