Council OK’s $24.5 million in General Obligation bonds for Renaissance Project; Max Weaver says citizens were lied to (video)

MASON CITY – The Mason City council on Tuesday night gave final approval to sell $25,400,000 in General Obligation bonds and the city named a new source to help pay off the burden – a debt service levy on the backs of city property owners.

Debt service levies are taxes assessed on property owners to pay off bonds. For much of last year and through the fall  elections, the citizens of Mason City were told by the aggressive, well-funded, sometimes-vicious “YES” campaign that the hallowed Renaissance Project would not be a burden on taxpayers.  They repeatedly promised Mason City citizens that sources such as state grants, TIF revenues, local option sales tax, and developer repayment fees would cover the cost to repay bonds sold by the city to raise funds to build the downtown project, which consists of a hotel, arena, pavilion, skywalk, museum and convention center.

However, as former Councilman Max Weaver pointed out Tuesday night, citizens were potentially misled or outright lied to about the potential pitfalls in the project. City documents and the council meeting packet itself now list a future debt service levy as a funding source to pay off the $24.5 million in General Obligation bonds the city intends to sell. Tuesday night at the regular city council meeting, John Lee (completely absent) and Tom Thoma (on the phone) were not in their seats, but a quorum was present. The agenda item authorizing the sale of about $30 million in General Obligation bonds for the Renaissance Project and other projects passed 5-0 with little discussion.

At the meeting, only one citizen spoke to the council with concerns about this massive spending spree backed up by taxpayers.  Former councilman Max Weaver rattled off some of the “YES” campaign members who allegedly helped spread falsehoods that taxpayers would not be on the hook to payoff the Renaissance Project.  He named Robin Anderson the “pied piper” who led the charge.  In his remarks and later in conversations, he also pointed to underwear runner and wine-drinker Lonnie Dirksen, smug banker John Prebeck, “wives” of city councilmen who relentlessly argued in favor of the project, fake news professor John Skipper of the Globe Gazette, Ventura’s Darlena Barz of KGLO radio and her employee Robert Fisher, also of KGLO, where much of the “YES” campaign was masterminded, social media campaigns, websites, illegally placed signage and more that combined together orchestrated the myth of no burden to taxpayers.  He alleged the “YES” crew “rigged” last fall’s elections, as well, to ensure the council was stocked with persons who would not ask questions or challenge the project.

“It’s like we were brainwashed,” Mr. Weaver said.

Mr. Weaver also said the Music Man Museum is a bad idea and not many people will care enough to go; he offered that a law enforcement / police museum would be a better idea.  He says Southbridge Mall needs serious upgrades and fixes to accommodate the arena and pavilion and questioned whether mall owner Michael Kohan would invest in the structure.  He pointed to Kohan’s dubious track record with his other properties.

The council, immediately after the regular council meeting, went into closed session to discuss the status of 5 candidates for the city’s vacant City Administrator position. In that meeting, John Lee joined the council via phone – he was absent for the regular meeting. Sources tell NIT he pushed for consideration of a certain person for the job who may or may not have been on the list of 5 candidates brought forth by consultants.