2 EP City Reps Float Letting Voters Decide On Multipurpose Center
Not to sound like a broken record, but the $180M Multi-Purpose Center the El Paso voted for in 2012, still isn’t built. In fact, no ground has even been broken. That’s because, after 12 years, they still haven’t chosen a site for the MPC.
Now, at least two city councilmembers are saying the decision should (maybe) go BACK to the voters.
But…WHICH decision? Whether to have the Center or not? To use the appropriated money for some other project? Or to just forget the whole thing and give the money (what’s left of it) back to the taxpayers?
Rep. Brian Kennedy, a likely mayoral candidate, said in an El Paso Times story Monday, “I don’t think voters were told the truth”, referring to the cost of the arena.
Although $180 million was on the bond, Kennedy says, it was always going to cost much, much more than that. “Let’s have a reality check here”, Kennedy said.
East-Valley Rep. Art Fierro put an even finer point on it, telling the Times, “We need the voters to have input on whether they want the arena…or something else.” Fierro also said he believed it was owed to the voters to have some input that provides guidance for the MPC issue.
We don’t know when or in what form such a proposed “vote” might take place. Also, how would it appear on the ballot? “You Want This Thing? Check Yes or No”.
Brian Kennedy wrote an Op-Ed on “4 Options for the El Paso Arena”. You can read it here but, to be honest, none of them are great.