Yeah, I went back and watched. They accepted the grants for New Vision and for the new city hall money but denied the purchase agreement for the Masonic Temple. I'm happy about this, at minimum if they go with the Masonic Temple they need to negotiate the purchase of that lot on the corner at the time of initial purchase. I personally will not be happy if that doesn't happen. I also don't think Boji should be the developer, certainly not by default. If anyone gets that contract handed to them it should be Christman.
Some councilmembers sound skeptical, this is a positive imo. How about bonding out another $20-$40 million more and doing a competitive RFP? Something about city hall being in a crowded in mid-block building doesn't sit well with me. It should be on a prominent corner, I know it seems minor but I think it's important.
I'm glad to hear all of those things. Though, I'm a bit taken aback - having not watched council in YEARS - to see that apparently Councilman Kost is a "no" on nearly anything development related. I was really unsettled by his argument around the Ovation brownfield amendment, which amounted to basically that we shouldn't ever do anything big and that all of these things should pay for themselves. Self-sustaining institutions are nice, but not ALL of them can be, there are some things that a community has to subsidize if they want them to be successful. I kind of got the argument about how many times this project had grown. But if I heard him right, he wouldn't have even been for the second iteration. And then the little non-binding resolution stunt saying that the council agrees that these things should be self-sustaining really didn't sit right with me. There's like no compromise with him. And as much as I'm not a particular fan of this mayor, he does seem fine with slowing things down and compromising when he and the council have different opinions on things.
Despite saying OK to accepting $40 million for a city government campus, council members rejected a plan to buy the Masonic Temple for a new City Hall.
Council member Trini Pehlivanoglu said residents don't understand how the Masonic Temple was picked as the potential city hall, and the city does not have to spend the money until 2027.
"I do think for the sake of transparency with residents and constituents they simply don’t understand the process and there’s some missing pieces for them," she said. "The administration has answered my questions, the developers have answered my questions. I'm asking for more time. And transparency is worthwhile."
I didn't realize the city had that long to spend the money, so I'm even more heartened to see this slowed down and have input from residents as to what they want in a city hall, whether that be a new building, renovated building in a different locations, or a renovation-in-place. Now, we've got the money...so let's do this right with more transparency. I'd like to see the mayor organize a few community meetings in the wards so the residents feel like they have at least been heard for such a big project that will be built in their name.
Heck, if they really want this to have maximum community buy-in, maybe hold a non-binding resolution this August or November to answer the basic question of whether residents want to see the city hall moved or renovated in place, and then the administration can work out the details from there.
Comments
Some councilmembers sound skeptical, this is a positive imo. How about bonding out another $20-$40 million more and doing a competitive RFP? Something about city hall being in a crowded in mid-block building doesn't sit well with me. It should be on a prominent corner, I know it seems minor but I think it's important.
ANYWAY.../rant
I didn't realize the city had that long to spend the money, so I'm even more heartened to see this slowed down and have input from residents as to what they want in a city hall, whether that be a new building, renovated building in a different locations, or a renovation-in-place. Now, we've got the money...so let's do this right with more transparency. I'd like to see the mayor organize a few community meetings in the wards so the residents feel like they have at least been heard for such a big project that will be built in their name.
Heck, if they really want this to have maximum community buy-in, maybe hold a non-binding resolution this August or November to answer the basic question of whether residents want to see the city hall moved or renovated in place, and then the administration can work out the details from there.