Scottsdale Panel Considers Bond Suggestions

A task force developing a list of projects to be included in Scottsdale, Ariz.’s general obligation 2013 bond request will meet this week to review suggestions proposed by citizens through the city’s web site.
Proposals submitted to the panel included a bird sanctuary, a rose garden, and a court for a sport called pickleball.
A 2012 bond task force recommended 34 projects totaling $168 million but the City Council voted in May to postpone an election until 2013.
The current task force is looking at 31 additional projects costing $158.1 million, the city said. Proposals include a $49 million Desert Discovery Center at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, an $8 million parking garage in downtown, and a $5 million police training facility.
The panel will report its recommendations to the City Council in early 2013.
The council must decide by March whether to call a November bond election.
Scottsdale passed a $350 million GO referendum in 2000 but a $37 million bond plan was defeated in November 2010.
The city’s $622.7 million of outstanding GO bonds are rated triple-A.