Board of Aldermen 02-23-2021 Page 21
| would not want to get into the Budget Meeting and end up with other questions that can’t be answered and
this drags on ad nauseum. So if it does get referred back to Budget | would please insist that the questions be
developed and submitted in time so that we can discuss them with some reasonable assurance of coming up
with the final answers at the Budget Committee. | don’t think we can go out on a limb here in agreeing to this
as its written, we have other bites at the apple to protect the City and the taxpayers as far as final designs and
everything else. So | don’t think that this locking us in in a cement boot. | think it is giving the developer the
wherewithal to proceed with spending money to develop more of the drawings and to get things lined up so
that he can move forward. They still have to sign a lease and by the way, the lease will have to come back to
the Board of Aldermen for approval and the Mayor would have to sign the lease. So there are other checks
and balances and | think if we move forward with this tonight, | don’t think, like | said, put such severe
constrictions on us that we can’t make inputs later. Thank you.
President Wilshire
You're welcome. Alderwoman Lu.
Alderwoman Lu
Just a clarification, Alderman Dowd | think that you quoted from February 10" Budget Meeting. | specifically
wrote in my notes, 20 to 30 parking spaces. | also remember reading that in the meeting notes. Hearing that
and hearing something different tonight, | guess if | am the only person that cares whether we are going to
spend ...
President Wilshire
Don't do that. That’s not fair to the rest of the board to assign any kind of — it’s just not ok to do.
Alderwoman Lu
I'm not sure of what you are saying. | did some research.
President Wilshire
What you are saying is you know how the rest of the board is going to vote or do something, you don't really
know that.
Alderwoman Lu
OK. This did come up again, changed two weeks ago. The questions | am asking have to do with the
changes. And | did reach out to six board members today as well as other people to ask if they had seen the
lease because | am concerned that we have no guarantee that — | spoke with a few people and it seemed very
vague about the real estate, the property taxes. | understand that Alderman Dowd was able to contact
Melville, nobody responded to me. | didn’t have Melville's number to reach out to and ask. But you know | am
also dealing with, | guess | am also a little insulted that Mayor Donchess, you are going to call me down,
anyways it’s only been 2 weeks so thank you. That’s all.
President Wilshire
Alderman Lopez?
Alderman Lopez
| do think it is important for us all to remember that people communicate in different ways and they process in
different ways. So somebody may be more articulate than the next person. That doesn’t mean the other
person is not paying attention or not listening. So just food for thought that people are not all, they don’t all
