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Residents urge caution on rapid timeline, call for clear numbers and citizen leadership
Summary
Several residents told the council that the pace of planning has been fast and asked for clearer financial detail before the city finalizes ballot language; speakers emphasized the need for citizen-led advocacy and accurate public information to counter online misinformation.
Multiple public speakers at the Aug. 5 special meeting urged caution about the compressed timeline and called for clearer, published financial modeling before the council finalizes ballot language.
Ben, who opened public comment, asked officials to "come to the table with a willingness to actually compromise" and not get hung up on personalities while acknowledging the accelerated schedule. Dan Francis questioned the realism of the advertised construction and lifetime-cost numbers and pressed the board to present 'the right number' to voters so residents are not surprised.
Brennan shared bond-amortization scenarios and highlighted the difference between capital principal and the interest and operations that follow; he said: "Let's just say that's the worst case... that's a $10,800,000 interest costing the residents..." as he walked through an example. Several speakers urged the boards to make FAQs, fact sheets and public informational sessions available immediately to counter online misinformation and to help citizen advocates understand the tradeoffs.
Mayor Lund repeatedly emphasized that the ultimate decision about the funding rests with voters: "This is your money, and... it is something that you have to decide come November 3." Speakers and council members agreed there should be more public education before the Aug. 17 packet is finalized.
