“I don’t think this an appropriate cost or use of city funds. I think we’re being led along,” he said. “I think now is the time, before all the money gets spent, to put a stop to it.”

Since the city intends to sell the Garver building to Baum but retain ownership of the land under a ground lease, the responsibility of soil remediation falls on the city, Rolfs said.

Southwest Side center

The committee also approved borrowing an additional $200,000 for an employment and neighborhood center on Madison’s Southwest Side.

Madison officials budgeted $1 million to renovate the former Griff’s restaurant at 1233 McKenna Blvd. into an employment center for the Park Edge/Park Ridge neighborhood.

But some of the money went to unanticipated costs, such as $80,000 to $90,000 in city staff time for engineering work, community development director Jim O’Keefe said.

The $1 million was also not project-specific and budgeted for neighborhood centers in general, letting the city draw out $50,000 to $75,000 to finish work at two other centers, O’Keefe said.