The (Maple Valley) City Council is planning a vote to refinance the bond for the 54-acre Legacy site (across from Rock Creek Elementary). Refinancing makes sense as this will save the city between $175,000 and $223,000…the only question is to renew it as it currently exists, tax exempt, or as a taxable bond.

First, let’s review a little history. As many residents remember, the city bought this land over 10 years ago with the promise this would be a central gathering area for all of Maple Valley. They collaborated with planners, designers, and residents for over four years to develop several very thoughtful options for a sensible mix of public use and potential commercial development. To ensure that mix, they utilized tax exempt bonds, which mandates nearly a 50 percent usage for public use. This would effectively preserve one of the last remaining undeveloped parcels of land in the city limits.

Now, in the course of a few weeks, the city Planning Commission is working with some members and staff of City Council to quickly push a change through to refinance this as a taxable bond. They favor the taxable bond, which changes the zoning requirements of the site to allow 100 percent commercial development, including five-story structures and high density housing/apartments. This taxable refinance option would save an estimated $48,000 less money than the tax exempt bond refinance. They want to effectively cost the city more money to sneak this zoning change through the system all for the sake of “flexibility”. These Planning Commission members, staff and council members are trying to betray the public trust and minimize the communication of this deceptive and expedient maneuver.

(Mayor) Bill Allison is quoted as saying the public is confused on this issue. I agree…when an issue is so quietly raised and short on information with a quick turn-around vote planned by City Council, that should be no surprise. When Bill Allison made the decision to forego the city’s presentation on this topic prior to the public comment session, that only perpetuated the confusion, and starts raising the level of mistrust. When the head of the Maple Valley Planning Commission doesn’t even realize the name of the neighborhood that directly borders and is impacted by the Legacy site, are we supposed to be confident in the level of due diligence displayed by the city? The pro-taxable bond folks tell us we should trust them. This sounds a lot like the phrase we all heard several years earlier on a national level that we have to vote for the bill to see what’s in it…and you see how that has turned out.

This upcoming council vote on Feb. 23 seems like a simple choice. The City Council should vote to refinance the tax exempt bond to maximize savings for the city and preserve the trust established between city government and the residents. I encourage the residents to contact the council members to express your views on this.

Andy Gillespie
Maple Valley