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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,August 22,2011 Page 27 Councilmember McGehee reiterated her support in increasing the PIP to $500,000 annually moving forward to implement the Master Plan on a course deemed rea- sonable by Mr. Brokke; however, she expressed her serious concerns in not going before the public for a referendum. Johnson moved, Willmus seconded, authorization of the approach, abatement bond method and $19,025,000 amount to implement step one of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan as presented, with further staff direction to prepare a reso- lution and set a public hearing date to issue bonds for the final park improvements yet to be determined. Pust moved, McGehee seconded, amending the motion for the same amount and incorporating the same approach and dollar amount to implement Step One of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan; with the method changed to seek approval by requiring a voter-endorsed referendum. Roll Call (Amendment) Ayes: McGehee; Pust. Nays: Johnson; Willmus; and Roe. Motion failed. Mayor Roe opined that the proposed approach made sense; and further opined that a pay-as-you-go approach would not equate to financing the debt over the same period, with the debt spread over a twenty (20) year period versus a 5-8 year build out, and costs for debt service during that timeframe. Mayor Roe opined that a pay-as-you-go approach would have a much more significant impact on taxpayers for the first 5-8 years, similar to a mortgage for purchase or construc- tion of a new home, and the rationale of spreading out that cost over a longer pe- riod. Mayor Roe further opined that the City was significantly below statutory requirements for indebtedness, and while not suggesting that the City come close to that amount, opined that the City was well within a favorable margin to take on additional debt. Mayor Roe encouraged public comment at the upcoming Public Hearing to verify or disclaim his opinion. Councilmember Pust questioned what impact this bond issue would have on the City's overall operating budget if passed; and how much it would increase the levy to support that debt service. Finance Director Chris Miller estimated that, once the entire $19 million was in place, an approximate additional $2 million in interest for that debt service an- nually would be required over the term of the entire issue; and anticipated that the entire issue would not be done all at once, but more realistically $4-5 million at a time; and estimated an increase to the levy of 5-6%.