WORKSHOP ITEM - Bob Therres, Public Services Manager
Title
DRAFT BALLOT QUESTION FOR COMMUNITY CENTER REFERENDUM
Background
The Community Center Task Force has been working for the last several years on looking at the possibility of building a community center in Blaine. The Community Center Task Force at its last meeting made its recommendation for the ballot question to appear on the November general election ballot. The ballot question and resolutions that the Council will be asked to adopt are attached.
The task force is recommending a ballot question that asks the voters to allow the City of Blaine to issue bonds not to exceed $29,350,000 for the construction and betterment of a community center and a senior center.
The task force is also recommending that the senior center be built as a separate facility to replace the existing facility in Aquatore Park.
As the task force learned the ballot question is highly regulated in how it is laid out and what can be included in the question. Several suggestions to add to the question included putting something in the question about operating surplus/deficit and tax costs on an average home. Bond Counsel strongly suggested that these not be included in the actual question but use that information in the educational materials. These types of statements in past bond questions have led to claims of being misleading and inaccurate and could damage the legitimacy of the bond question.
There is also a chance that by the workshop meeting next Thursday the amount of the bond issue might change. Our consultant is working with the YMCA to refine some spaces they may operate that could result in slightly lowering the bond request.
The ballot question will be on the City Council’s August 18th agenda for consideration. By State Statute the bond question needs to be forwarded to Anoka County 74 days before the election (August 26th) to be placed on the November ballot.