Patterson responds to Cobo net income report

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said that the $2.4 million net income at Cobo Center, announced last Thursday by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority, is further evidence of the authority's success. "The DRCFA is a model for other regional authorities," Patterson said. "We fought hard and held out for the authority's current structure which protects taxpayers in each county including Oakland." The DRCFA was created by the Michigan Legislature through Public Act No. 63 of 2009 granting it power to assume operational control of Cobo Center for the purposes of improving and expanding the facility. It has five members each representing Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties, the City of Detroit, and State of Michigan. It operates on a consensus model where all five members must agree in order for the DRCFA to take action on all matters. Michael Carroll, chief financial officer at George W. Auch Co., is Oakland County's representative on the DRCFA. "If you haven't been to Cobo lately, you should go," Patterson said. "When the renovations are complete, I expect it will be one of the top convention facilities in the nation." Published: Mon, Dec 3, 2012