Council chairwoman Laraine Swenson persevered Tuesday night with the third proposal for the ordinance, but only after agreeing to reduce by half her previous requests for $1 million annually.
Councilwoman Tami Pyfer voted for the third time Tuesday against the open space proposal, reaffirming her initial stance that the city budget is stretched too thin to warrant the dedication of taxpayers' dollars to open space preservation at this time.
"We have so many other critical financing needs right now - infrastructure and other basic things that cities really should provide," Pyfer said. "We're so far behind that I have a hard time putting open space above everything else, until we're in a better financial situation."
But Swenson's concession caused Councilman Steven Thompson (no relation to the mayor), who twice voted against previous open space proposals, to extend his support. This vital vote would make it impossible for a third veto by Mayor Thompson to stick.
Mayor Thompson exercised his unilateral veto authority for similar proposals in March and April. Thompson said he will sign the latest ordinance into effect, but he didn't go as far as to say he supports it.
"I will approve it," Thompson said Tuesday night after the council approved the ordinance 4-1. Thompson said there were some circumstances behind the scenes that left him no other choice but to endorse the open space measure.
"The chair [Swenson] was holding up a very vital project for transportation safety . . . and would not allow that to go on the agenda until some form of this open space ordinance was passed," Thompson said.
Swenson was stalling a plan for the city to vacate LeGrand Street so officials could trade property and install a traffic light at the busy intersection of 100 West and Highway 89/91, Thompson said.
With the adoption of Logan City's 2005-06 budget, a maximum $500,000 fund reserve will be used to acquire open space.
The open space reserve will be funded from dedicated sales tax from the South Main Redevelopment Project Area, over and above sales tax generated in the area in 2004-'05.
