Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson said a meeting next Tuesday could be the breaking point for the Centre City project.

City council had a special meeting Wednesday morning that was scheduled to award contracts for the proposed 239-space parking garage.

However, the city had to table that bid action because the developer of the proposed neighboring hotel has yet to finalize its agreements to buy land for the project from the city redevelopment authority.

“They’ve had some snags in their agreement,” Donaldson said.

Council said it cannot move forward with the garage until it knows for certain the Marriott Springhill Suites hotel will be built because the hotel will be the primary tenant of the garage — guaranteeing to pay for at least 50 spaces each night.

Donaldson said he had expected J.S. Capitol, the developer of the project, to buy the property at the corner of East Jefferson and South McKean streets this past Tuesday, but the deal wasn’t done.

That wasn’t the first delay in finalizing the sale.

“It was supposed to be completed in July,” said Joe Gray of the redevelopment authority. “The developer didn’t follow through.”

Council went into recess from its meeting Wednesday. It will reconvene Tuesday night to make a decision on the garage.

While council hopes to award contracts at that meeting, it is possible there may not be any bids left by then.

Council said prospective contractors can begin withdrawing their bids Monday, which is the 60-day deadline from when the bids were collected in June.

City officials said the developer is using that deadline to get a larger ownership stake in the hotel.

The redevelopment authority is set to own 36 percent of the property in a partnership with the developer.

“He’s treating this like he’s trying to buy a used car,” Donaldson said of Jeff Schmitz, owner of J.S. Capitol.

But Schmitz on Tuesday said in a phone interview that he was unaware he was supposed to have attended any meetings in Butler that day.

He said his firm is still working with the city redevelopment authority to finalize the deal, but did not comment further.

Council Solicitor Jim Coulter said the developer claims that it has invested a higher percentage of capital in the project than what the current joint venture agreement with the authority represents.

The authority will use a $2 million state grant to help build the hotel.

Art Cordwell, executive director of the authority, said Tuesday morning that the authority may have to consider lessening its stake in the project.

Authority solicitor Don Graham is working with Schmitz to iron out the details, Cordwell said.

But council said it has grown tired of delays on the developer’s end, and said its back is against the wall for continuing with its own $4.6 million garage.

Donaldson said Graham is preparing a final offer to the developer that needs to be completed before council meets Tuesday night.

Coulter said the city could still rebid the project if bids are withdrawn or if the hotel hasn’t finalized its deal. The city has until Sept. 14 to authorize the sale of the bonds to pay for the work.

However, Donaldson said he thinks the city needs to decide its future next week.

“At some point we need to say yay or nay,” he said.

Uhl Construction of Allison Park has the lowest bid of $3.6 million for the general contracting for the structure, which will have about $1 million in other costs and fees.

“If we have to rebid, they (the bids) will come back hundreds of thousands of dollars over,” councilman Richard Schontz said.

Representatives with Uhl could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The city may not have the budget for any price increases.

The city authorized itself to spend up to $7 million through a bond issue for the structure. However, the city also budgeted about $1.8 million of that bond to pay off the parking authority’s existing debt. It also will spend $311,000 on the West New Castle bridge replacement project, which is under construction.

Donaldson said if the garage project falls through the city will seek a smaller bond issue to pay off the parking authority’s debt, repair the tier garage and other lots, and pay for the bridge replacement project.

Each of the council members expressed frustration with the status of the Centre City project, which has been discussed for nearly a decade.

“I’m appalled,” councilwoman Kathy Kline said of the delays. “Especially after the developer in his own words insinuated that the city didn’t have its stuff together (in the past). What’s the problem?”

Councilman Bill May compared the drawn-out process to other hotel developments in the county.

“The developers of the Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn in Butler Township got their projects done in no time,” he said.

Coulter suggested to council members that they continue to work with the developer to resolve any differences.

“I think we should tone it down a little bit,” Coulter said during the meeting. “They are still our potential partners, and we need to work together.”

Kline said the city officials have been attempting to work with the developer to get the project going.

“We’ve jumped through hoops to make this happen,” she said.

The city has spent more than $160,000 on engineering work for the garage, as well as $30,000 to get bond ratings.

Donaldson said the city and the redevelopment authority have done all they can do for the project.

“If this project falls through, there is absolutely zero blame on city council, myself or the redevelopment authority,” Donaldson said. “This lies fully on the shoulders of the developer.”

Councilwoman Cheri Readie said she is still confident it will progress.

“Everyone has too much stake in this for it to go south,” Readie said, “including the developer. I have a hard time believing he’d back out.”