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Multiple public commenters urge transparency on 2-million-gallon reservoir rehabilitation and accuse city officials of withholding information
Summary
Several visitors used the public-comment period to allege a 2,000,000‑gallon reservoir rehabilitation failed in 2017 and to request records and explanations; one commenter also accused city staff of untruthfulness about the tourism fund and raised ethical concerns about the mayor and chief of police.
During the public-comment period at the May 21 work session, multiple residents urged the city to provide records and explanations related to a rehabilitated 2,000,000‑gallon reservoir they say failed and to address perceived misconduct by city officials.
Ron Tremblitz opened comments by saying "trust matters" and urging transparency. A second speaker (identified in the record as a commenter alleging technical details) asserted the reservoir rehabilitation work that began in October 2016 and continued into early 2017 failed, that inspection oversight was inadequate, and that documentation from a 2017 Bayer investigation and a 2022 mediation should be released; the commenter named Sue Nelson (the city’s engineering director in the transcript) and Tim Underwood (described as a construction inspector) and said an April 22 settlement agreement found certain contractors and consultants had no liability.
A separate commenter criticized the finance director’s prior statement that imageable tourism income was a first for the fiscal year, calling it a lie and implying either error or misconduct, and raised concerns about the waterfront railing, Main Street funding and alleged undeclared conflicts, and a reported public dispute involving the mayor and the police chief.
Council did not respond in detail during the work session to the substantive record requests raised by speakers; staff said they would take notes and follow up where appropriate. The transcript shows residents asked for specific files, including mediation records and inspection certificates, and asked the city to produce them or explain why they are not publicly available.
No formal staff report or action was taken during the work session on the reservoir allegation or the ethics concerns raised by the speakers.
