Both the Renton Patch and Renton Reporter ran stories about the very significant library vote (and the discussion preceding it) at last night’s council meeting.
I had explained my opposition to this move in my previous blog entry here.
Here is the story in Renton Patch.
Here is the story in the Renton Reporter. (Update: This article seems to have disappeared from cyberspace; here is an earlier related article by the Renton Reporter)
Shame on King Parker and others that voted for the Big 5 location.
The new stainless steel appliances will now be bought at Albert Lee
After this spending spree, I really hope property values don’t decline more – the city budget is screwed if they drop any more. I also hope DTR is placated by the big-box library as there’s a lot that needs to be done there.
The good news is that we get to test out the bonds for free: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=7.25&full=true
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There’s two limitations that the city has on coucilmatic bonds: there’s a cap on bonding above 1.5 percent of the taxable value of all land in the municipality. My calcs say the city is close and it’s worth exploring further. The other limitation is that the bonds have to be for “municipal use”. There’s not much case law, but it looks like “municipal use” is a higher standard than “public use.”