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Resident questions city plans and financing for proposed event center
Summary
Linda Martin (Ward 3) asked the council whether the city reserved lodging‑tax revenue for the proposed event center, questioned discrepancies in cost figures ($8.4M vs. $8.0M), and expressed concern about borrowing for a facility the city may not own and potential impacts on nonprofit lodging‑tax grants.
Linda Martin of Ward 3 addressed the council during public comment to raise questions about the proposed event center and how the city plans to pay for it.
Martin said she had reviewed the project's web pages and noted inconsistencies and unanswered questions: "So it's 8,400,000, it says. You've got grants for about 1,500,000... So we're planning on spending $8,000,000 that we don't have. We're gonna borrow money, and that's my taxpayer money to pay it back, and we're going to invest it in a property that we don't own." She asked whether the city had set aside lodging‑tax revenues for the project and warned that relying on lodging taxes could reduce grant funds nonprofits have historically counted on.
The comment did not spur a staff commitment to a specific financing plan at the meeting; Hoagland later referenced event‑center planning costs as items that would be moved into the capital construction fund when appropriate. Linda Martin said she did not oppose an event center in principle but wanted clearer answers about funding, ownership and timing.
