IIRC these bond packages are 10 years - 2007 - 2017 - 2027

What would you like to see on bonds package exceeding $1 billion:


1. Dome or retractable roof football stadium - 75,000 seats--barebones minimum $400 million . . .

. . . (Oklahoma Riverfront or Old Producers COOP Mill site)
2. Downtown Space Tower 1,000 feet tall - taller than Devon Tower $60 million.
3. Indoor Olympic pool - On site with PSM (Old Myriad) and new NBA arena - Budget $2 million


(Select one from three above or submit you own with estimated cost*)

Will Oklahoma City be ready to take on a massive development like a dome or retractable roof stadium
that could bid on the NCAA Final Four.

*Or what project would you like to see in this future package.

Honestly all the stuff you have above doesn't make sense. The new soccer stadium is going on the COOP space. And we sure as heck do not need a 75k football stadium for that team we are NEVER going to get. That would be a complete waste of money. Space needle, ok cool, but no one builds those anymore. It's a fad that's gone by the wayside and the city sure as heck shouldnt' be the one to build a tourist attraction (which is what it is). And what are you going to do with the pool? If anything, we're seeing the city get OUT of the pool space. Rose State and OCCC both closed their aquatics where the people that used it, are forced to the YMCA in their area. More schools have closed their own pools for liability reasons and also pushed to the Y. It's gonna sit and rot.


Roads, always roads. So many roads that need help....badly.

More sidewalks.

Honestly, mostly infrastructure stuff. As we grow out, we need to beef it up or add new stations for things to be able to support the new populations. Just telling everyone to go Septic shouldn't be a long-term solution, for example. Forward look to what we can do with trash. We're going to run out of Mt Trashmore locations and what?

Create a fund to help subsidize getting solar on to commercial rooftops to keep the power distribution moving to green. The residential programs are complete crap still. You're just paying Peter instead of Paul but Peter is still helping out OG&E anyway since you can't run your home off it. It's just distributed generation. No thanks. I want that battery bank to run my home from it and then my leftovers can go to OG&E thank you very much. Anyway.....

Public transit.....We have to get in front of this with better solutions. The rail thing just doesn't look like its going to really ever happen. But the busses aren't helpful in a lot of areas. When was the last time you saw one of those large busses with even half a load in them too? Seems like to me a smaller vehicle in a larger fleet would allow for more frequent stops at each location. And "connectors" between areas of town where you dont always have to connect like a dang airplane hub somewhere first. I realize it's a chicken and egg thing but gotta start somewhere and know that it's also going to be a "utility" and not a profit seeking venture.

Sidewalks, transit, roads, money for various bits of preparation for the Olympics is what I would expect to see and is generally what we need.

Nature park, public/teaching garden focused on natives, recreation centers, finish the south outer loop trail - all south of the river. Its past time for investment in this part of okc.

very likely it will be half for streets and sidewalks .. (500 mil or so)

this was the 2017 967 mil

Streets and sidewalks ($491 million)
Traffic control ($28 million)
Bridges ($27 million)
Parks and recreation ($138 million)
Drainage control ($62 million)
Economic and community development ($60 million)
Fire ($45 million)
Police ($31 million)
Libraries ($24 million)
Transit ($20 million)
Civic Center complex ($20 million)
City maintenance facilities ($13 million)
Downtown arena ($9 million)

More pickleball courts, please. No matter how many they build, they are always full. It is booming, and OKC is far behind the curve on it.

More parks would be nice, as well. And fixing highway exits.

The COOP Mill site where the MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium is proposed will occupy 7.2 acres. IIRC there's 34-36 acres available on that site. Plenty of room for another stadium if the demand is there. Not looking for NFL in 2030; but OKC could draw a lot of attractions to our city with a stadium protected from our sometimes unpredictable weather.

Space Tower fad serving as an observation deck over the city, true, it doesn't necessarily have to be a Space Tower; however, something high enough to view the city from a 360 degree angle. The most viewed tread on this forum 'The Legend's Tower' which we give less than a 5% chance of getting built has attracted a lot of interest.

The 4 square block PSM site where we will build the new $900 million downtown arena will have ample space to add some more stuff. If Omaha can attract Olympic style events to their city--why not OKC---we're not talking in terms of a YMCA pool. Omaha drains their pool--it's not a year round upkeep that's putting a drain on the city or a local community college.

Agree, City infrastructure is the main source for bonds. We built the Myriad Convention Center with bonds--however by the time we opened it--the arena was downsized from 15,000 permanent seats to 11,200--one of several reasons we lost the NFR; also we were down to one quality DT hotel when the Myriad opened. OKC needs more attractions built in our city if we want to compete with cities on our level and above.

Agree with you on solar and moving more in the direction of green energy.

Public bus transit is all we have for a city that stretches 620 square miles--our city continues to modify our
bus routes to meet the demand. We have the smaller mini busses that transport throughout our city.

.

Yeah, they're not going to do anything like that. It is going to be mostly roads, sidewalks and infrastructure improvements. I am not sure of the complexity of it in terms of funding, but the BRT NW seems to be doing well, it is well documented that it will go NE and SW, I wonder if more of that will be useful to the city? Also, they need to make sure ALL the bus stops are upgraded. I can't tell you how many I drive by that are just a sign and a bench.

I would say a small tower, maybe 250 to 300 feet tall. I walked up the Arch Of Triumph in Paris and it was probably that tall. It was a great observation deck for a 360 degree view of Paris.

If ours had it's own theme, and placed on or near Scissortail park, it would be a major attraction.

Note - just checked after the fact, Arch of Triumph is 164 ft tall. So ours could be closer to 200 feet.

If Omaha can attract Olympic style events to their city--why not OKC---we're not talking in terms of a YMCA pool. Omaha drains their pool--it's not a year round upkeep
.

the olympic swimming in omaha was in the downtown 18k basketball arena .... that is why they " drain it" it is a temp pool ..

and they lost the swimming trials to a larger football domed venue .. (and it is very likely they will never go back to a smaller venue ever again)

Better consider what people already living paycheck to paycheck with basic costs just to live going up every day would be willing to vote for.

A City rep told me there will be a new bond vote in 2025.

I know the Devon Park improvements will be part of that.

They are planning a bond vote for fall or possibly December 2025.

A City rep told me there will be a new bond vote in 2025.

I know the Devon Park improvements will be part of that.

That means the 2017 bonds will run 8 years ending July 2025.

Still time to do some planning; especially since some funds to accommodate the Olympics are not basic road and street infrastructure. They made exceptions to MAPS (Capital Improvements) with some human infrastructure needs.

LA28 will be another chance to showcase our city. Thanks for the update, Pete and GaryOKC6.

Youth sports facilities. Spend at least $150 million to make our soccer, baseball and at least one indoor basketball/volleyball facility some of the best in the region.

https://www.usasoftball.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/120/2024/06/La28_venue.jpeg?w=1024

2017 GO Bonds - $27.5 million was apart of the 4,000 seat upper deck and stadium expansion to Devon Park in 2020.

Now poised to co-host LA28 World Softball Olympic Games and canoe slalom in 1928.

My memory of the next bonds were vague at the time. Recall when the issue of paying for a new arena came up--a bond issue in 2025 and the upcoming MAPS 4 extension were potential sources of paying for new arena.

We've looked at other cities like San Antonio when they built the Riverwalk. OKC patterned something similar with the 1 mile Bricktown Canal. Our canal, unlike SA's Riverwalk (15 mile stretch) is supported with a concrete bottom. S.A. IIRC is rebuilding their Riverwalk with flood control improvements.

There are many ideas in other cities where an aspiring city like OKC may look to borrow an idea here or there.

We have a new downtown arena in the mix (NBA specs) where more than $900 million - a billion will be invested; let's construct an arena that will be a jewel among arenas in the NBA. Noticed Detroit's Little Caesars' Arena had many different fronts surrounding it.

https://www.freep.com/gcdn/-mm-/1d81ec68d15b8d101b5572e563647a8d513bb19c/c=0-24-978-577/local/-/media/2017/02/21/DetroitFreePress/DetroitFreePress/636232674236566202-Capture.PNG?width=660&height=374&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

Many seats are on the lower level.
https://cdn.dbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2022/03/TMN_NTT-LCA800.jpg

Honestly, just don't know what to think of the different fronts that surround the arena. OKC will have 4 square blocks to put our arena and parking garage together. Notice the skywalks leading to the arena ^ ^ ^ from the main parking garage.


More improvements are anticipated for Devon Park and Riversport Rapids to host LA28 Olympic softball and canoe slalom. Invest $50 million into getting these facilities ready (Grandstand) for OKC to shine. Will definitely need some kind of shade coverings. It will be OUR TURN in the spotlight with hosting two of those events.

the olympic swimming in omaha was in the downtown 18k basketball arena .... that is why they " drain it" it is a temp pool ..

and they lost the swimming trials to a larger football domed venue .. (and it is very likely they will never go back to a smaller venue ever again)

Good point there. The temporary pools they build in arenas are completely fine for most everything. Diving can be a bit problematic, but thankfully, we don't have to worry about that in OKC for OK-LA-28. It's a lot of money to run a pool and a LOT of insurance. If we were to do something like this again, I think it would make more sense to go back to Rose or OCCC and partner with them to re-open/renovate their existing facilities. They worked fine for most of the events they were hosting. And they both came with a ton of parking right outside their doors too.

Nature park, public/teaching garden focused on natives, recreation centers, finish the south outer loop trail - all south of the river. Its past time for investment in this part of okc.

Other Regions have built wetlands to help improve the water quality before it reaches the lakes. Then they have a public teaching component alongside the wetland. The only place this makes sense for OKC is upstream of Overholser as the water that is in Draper originates in SE Oklahoma.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Doesn't this describe the Stinchcomb Wildlife refuge?

Maybe he means like a southside Martin Park.

https://journalrecord.com/files/2024/01/km-maps-stadium-875x548.png
A recent design for the MAPS 4 multipurpose stadium.
MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium construction scheduled to begin 2025 ^ 8,000 seat stadium - Producers COOP Mill site.
Oklahoma City Council approved using economic development funds to increase the budget for the MAPS 4 Multipurpose Stadium from $41 million to $71 million. Future home for USL Oklahoma City FC.


https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzQz-UWsBoUOAqhb0EMvJC23JoAzJs27R2Qk_Ga7HeVpupycfx
Design for a larger 20,000-seat city multipurpose stadium.


City should consider an increase in funding from $71 million to $120 million ( +$49 million 2025 bonds) to build a stadium that meets higher specifications. City could host state high school championship in 6A, 5A, 4A . . . in football, boys & girls soccer - many more events..


https://www.oklahoman.com/gcdn/presto/2023/05/23/NOKL/3b6a32ae-3476-408f-887b-c144eedbf5f9-b.jpg?crop=2581,1452,x41,y0&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSlgIm0bezicE7gvUWIfHyjUTaMMJNbp eYvug&s

2025 - construction to improve Devon Park ($30 million include shade covers) and Riversport Rapids ($30 million for grand stands/improvements) for LA28 Olympics; also build a multipurpose stadium. The grand stands for Riversport Rapids could host future events.

BTW if this next bond package exceeds $1 billion; 3/4th ($750 million) should cover a lot of streets and bridges; not to mention the potential funds from ODOT and the Feds.



https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzQz-UWsBoUOAqhb0EMvJC23JoAzJs27R2Qk_Ga7HeVpupycfx

Therefore, some bond funds ($49 million*) for a 20,000+ city stadium ($120 million total) and improvements to Devon Park ($30 million*) and the Riversport Rapids ($30 million*).

$109 million will cover 10% of the bond money which will probably total $1.1 billion. City will probably make some improvements to Civic Center Music Hall, cyber technology and more parking garages.

*used estimates twice the funds what may be needed.

I would love to see my neighborhood streets repaved and the drainage improved. A closer public library and a city park. However, I’m not holding my breath as I’m sure some trendy watchadoodle for downtown or NW OKC will take precedence. My neighborhood was built in 1984 and I have to go to Del City, Moore or Midwest City to enjoy a good park or the library. Yet I pay OKC MAPS taxes and see no benefit from it.

^ ^ ^

Contact the City of Oklahoma City and share your concerns . . .

I would love to see my neighborhood streets repaved and the drainage improved. A closer public library and a city park. However, I’m not holding my breath as I’m sure some trendy watchadoodle for downtown or NW OKC will take precedence. My neighborhood was built in 1984 and I have to go to Del City, Moore or Midwest City to enjoy a good park or the library. Yet I pay OKC MAPS taxes and see no benefit from it.
What neighborhood do you live in? What’s your nearest park?

I would love to see my neighborhood streets repaved and the drainage improved. A closer public library and a city park. However, I’m not holding my breath as I’m sure some trendy watchadoodle for downtown or NW OKC will take precedence. My neighborhood was built in 1984 and I have to go to Del City, Moore or Midwest City to enjoy a good park or the library. Yet I pay OKC MAPS taxes and see no benefit from it.

I recall the late 1970s-80s era was when developers were installing inferior streets, drainage, signage, etc, and the City of Oklahoma City stopped taking over ownership and maintenance of those that weren't built to code. Seems like a friend in The Meadows section of Summerfield was telling about his travails.

I have to go to Del City, Moore or Midwest City to enjoy a good park or the library. Yet I pay OKC MAPS taxes and see no benefit from it.

Scissortail Park has it all, and isn't that far from your referenced cities ???

Scissortail Park has it all, and isn't that far from your referenced cities ???

He could also contact his councilman about any concerns.

I would love to see my neighborhood streets repaved and the drainage improved. A closer public library and a city park. However, I’m not holding my breath as I’m sure some trendy watchadoodle for downtown or NW OKC will take precedence. My neighborhood was built in 1984 and I have to go to Del City, Moore or Midwest City to enjoy a good park or the library. Yet I pay OKC MAPS taxes and see no benefit from it.

Contact your city council person. They are the ones who work with the city to push for more money for their ward. We made a big push for better sidewalks a block from our house ten years ago and they are going in as part of the 2017 GO Bond. It takes time, but that's the only way to do it.

Fed slashes interest rates by a half point:

Calling on all of our Economic gurus and those in-the-know out there--how this recent move will positively affect OKC on borrowing money to build the proposed $900 million downtown arena (repaid with future MAPS 4 extension vote funds) on the 4 square block site of the Prairie Surf Media Studios--Old former Cox & Myriad Convention Center site.


$78 million MAPS 4 (Before extension)
$50 million The Professional Basketball Club (PBC) LLC
$772 million MAPS 4 (72 month extension vote)

Is this a game changer?

.

Fed slashes interest rates by a half point:

Calling on all of our Economic gurus and those in-the-know out there--how this recent move will positively affect OKC on borrowing money to build the proposed $900 million downtown arena (repaid with future MAPS 4 extension vote funds) on the 4 square block site of the Prairie Surf Media Studios--Old former Cox & Myriad Convention Center site.


$78 million MAPS 4 (Before extension)
$50 million The Professional Basketball Club (PBC) LLC
$772 million MAPS 4 (72 month extension vote)

Is this a game changer?

.

I don't think this helps anything on the arena side of it. I would think, if anything, it would hurt because the money the city collects sits in an account until it is used for projects. Those accounts are interest bearing. With the fed cutting rates, the rate of the account goes down as well so there isn't as much coming in off of it.

I might be completely off on this, but that is how I would see it. I would be happy to be told I am wrong.

I don't think this helps anything on the arena side of it. I would think, if anything, it would hurt because the money the city collects sits in an account until it is used for projects. Those accounts are interest bearing. With the fed cutting rates, the rate of the account goes down as well so there isn't as much coming in off of it.

I might be completely off on this, but that is how I would see it. I would be happy to be told I am wrong.

So this wouldn't help the City shop for a lower interest rate to fund the $772 million or more the City would bear to fund the arena for 72 months.

The $50 million the ownership group chipped in will probably pay for the demolition & prep of the PSM site (bid process); the $78 million should partially pay for the architectural and design fees for the new venue.

Will OKC need to request more money in the 2025 GO Bonds' next election on top of the funds needed for the Devon Park and Riversport Rapids facilities for LA28 Olympics.

I don't think this helps anything on the arena side of it. I would think, if anything, it would hurt because the money the city collects sits in an account until it is used for projects. Those accounts are interest bearing. With the fed cutting rates, the rate of the account goes down as well so there isn't as much coming in off of it.

I might be completely off on this, but that is how I would see it. I would be happy to be told I am wrong.
This erroneously assumes that the arena tax will be collected before construction begins, while in actuality that tax does not begin accumulating until the MAPS 4 tax expires in 2028. Meaning the arena is likely to be largely completed before the arena tax even begins collection. Basically all of the construction expense (EXCEPT for the redirected MAPS 4 money and the team ownership's contribution) will be fronted via borrowed funds. So yeah, the lower the interest rates the better, from both a City and a taxpayer standpoint.

By the way, the inclusion of borrowed funds is why this is not characterized as a MAPS program, as MAPS projects have historically been 100% debt-free. People are forgetting that part. The interest on hundreds of millions of dollars - even if paid off within a few short years once the tax is collected - will be quite substantial.

Following the bigger rate cut, "we are skeptical that the Fed will want to deliver a hawkish surprise", Bank of America economists said. The brokerage expects another 125 bps of cuts in 2025 to bring the terminal rate to 2.75%-3.00%, from the current federal funds target rate of 4.75%-5.00%.--Reuters

Borrowing rates won't drop nearly as quickly as savings rates will. High-yield savings accounts are likely going to be cut in half by next year, yet loan rates may not go down 1% overall.

This erroneously assumes that the arena tax will be collected before construction begins, while in actuality that tax does not begin accumulating until the MAPS 4 tax expires in 2028. Meaning the arena is likely to be largely completed before the arena tax even begins collection. Basically all of the construction expense (EXCEPT for the redirected MAPS 4 money and the team ownership's contribution) will be fronted via borrowed funds. So yeah, the lower the interest rates the better, from both a City and a taxpayer standpoint.

By the way, the inclusion of borrowed funds is why this is not characterized as a MAPS program, as MAPS projects have historically been 100% debt-free. People are forgetting that part. The interest on hundreds of millions of dollars - even if paid off within a few short years once the tax is collected - will be quite substantial.

Awe sh!t, I didn't think about the borrowing part. Thanks for the clarification. I was thinking about it from a tax collection stand point from MAPS, so of course it helps. With the 1/2% cut this week WSJP is down to 8.00% and there is an expected 0.25-0.50% cut by the end of the year and then at least 1.00% next year.

I am not sure how the lending for something of this size would work but if it is floating (construction loans usually are) then the interest on the loan would be reducing as rates do. If it is fixed, the rate would stay the same regardless of what WSJP does. This is one of those rare instances that it makes sense to have a floating rate versus fixed for the time being.

This erroneously assumes that the arena tax will be collected before construction begins, while in actuality that tax does not begin accumulating until the MAPS 4 tax expires in 2028. Meaning the arena is likely to be largely completed before the arena tax even begins collection. Basically all of the construction expense (EXCEPT for the redirected MAPS 4 money and the team ownership's contribution) will be fronted via borrowed funds. So yeah, the lower the interest rates the better, from both a City and a taxpayer standpoint.

By the way, the inclusion of borrowed funds is why this is not characterized as a MAPS program, as MAPS projects have historically been 100% debt-free. People are forgetting that part. The interest on hundreds of millions of dollars - even if paid off within a few short years once the tax is collected - will be quite substantial.

It will be partially offset by paying certain construction costs early at lower costs than starting later. The issue is likely the interest rate paid minus inflation rate. Not that the net isn't real money, it just isn't the whole story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uwHYciOs7c

Borrowing rates won't drop nearly as quickly as savings rates will. High-yield savings accounts are likely going to be cut in half by next year, yet loan rates may not go down 1% overall.

For the purpose of the arena, lower interest rates for borrowing are far more important than lower interest rates for savings accounts. Tax revenues for the arena will be spent or to make payments on issued bonds as revenues are collected, not amassed in a savings account. As long as interest rates remain low, it's great for the overall project cost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uwHYciOs7c




this video is 1 year old .... in that time

the A's have moved to Vegas (temp home in Sac)
the Rays have a new stadium deal done to stay in tampa bay
the royals will have a new stadium either in KC missouri or in KC kansas
the Jags have a new stadium deal done to stay in Jax
the coyotes have moved to Salt Lake city .

the Panthers Pelicans and Dbacks are all TBD ..

this video is 1 year old .... in that time

the A's have moved to Vegas (temp home in Sac)
the Rays have a new stadium deal done to stay in tampa bay
the royals will have a new stadium either in KC missouri or in KC kansas
the Jags have a new stadium deal done to stay in Jax
the coyotes have moved to Salt Lake city .

the Panthers Pelicans and Dbacks are all TBD ..

Panthers actually signed a new lease that likely keeps them in place for another 19 years ..

and it seems like the pelicans are close to a massive renovation package as well ..

so only the Dbacks at TBD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1S5O2BaP_Tk
Love the recognition and publicity our city continues to get toward MLB & NFL; however the corporate base
in Oklahoma would be stretched to support an MLB franchise.

Recall seeing where Bricktown Ballpark could be expanded to a maximum of 35,000 as a temporary home, most new major league ballparks will seat 40,000 - 45,000.

There is no need for a baseball stadium to be built. That won't help this city move forward and grow it's corporate base or corporate future. New schools, better roads, museums, parks, etc. These are what OKC needs to focus on, since they are already spending almost $1.1 billion on an arena and a new stadium downtown for soccer. Improve the riverfront. Incentivize development there. I wish they could use bonds to pay incentives for corporations to come here.

But road, schools, and Parks need to be the main focus of the next bonds, whenever they are issued.

There is no need for a baseball stadium to be built. That won't help this city move forward and grow it's corporate base or corporate future. New schools, better roads, museums, parks, etc. These are what OKC needs to focus on, since they are already spending almost $1.1 billion on an arena and a new stadium downtown for soccer. Improve the riverfront. Incentivize development there. I wish they could use bonds to pay incentives for corporations to come here.

But road, schools, and Parks need to be the main focus of the next bonds, whenever they are issued.

Who said we were building a major league baseball park or expanding one . . .

OKC's isn't going to improve its corporate base until we improve our quality of life and make our city more attractive. Our State has a Quality Jobs Program to attract businesses and reward expanding firms adding jobs--whatever incentives our city chips in is gravy.

Yes, Oklahoma City voters approved a $955 million bond package in 2022 to build new schools and improve the district's facilities.

MAPS 4 has $154 million for parks, $96.5 million for trails, streetlights, bike lanes, $491 million for streets & sidewalks. We're addressing these issues--look again at MAPS 4 - 16 projects: https://www.okc.gov/government/maps-4/projects - there have been updates to the MAPS 4 funding.

The next General Obligation Bonds (Will probably exceed $1 billion) in 2025 will likely have more funding for our city's infrastructure as we retire the 2017 ($967 million) GO bonds.

Here is your chance to ask for all the crazy things.

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/local/oklahoma-city/2024/11/19/okc-go-bond-vote-feedback-2025-elections/75826025007/

Here is your chance to ask for all the crazy things.

https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/local/oklahoma-city/2024/11/19/okc-go-bond-vote-feedback-2025-elections/75826025007/

Thanks Bison34; this is like going to a strip joint and getting tease with a lap dance and offered an $80 bottle of champagne.

Thanks Bison34; this is like going to a strip joint and getting tease with a lap dance and offered an $80 bottle of champagne.

well said. they already know where every dollar is going to be spent.

well said. they already know where every dollar is going to be spent.

Have you been to a GO meeting? I have. They've had quite a few and they'll have more. Do you think the city employees go to these just for sh!ts and giggles? They are giving up several hours of their family life each session and there are usually around 20 of them there to answer questions and to seek input. From the ones I've talked to each wish they were getting more citizen participation and input.

Do you think the city employees go to these just for sh!ts and giggles? They are giving up several hours of their family life each session and there are usually around 20 of them there to answer questions and to seek input. From the ones I've talked to each wish they were getting more citizen participation and input.

they are going to them because that is their JOB period

Have you been to a GO meeting? I have. They've had quite a few and they'll have more. Do you think the city employees go to these just for sh!ts and giggles? They are giving up several hours of their family life each session and there are usually around 20 of them there to answer questions and to seek input. From the ones I've talked to each wish they were getting more citizen participation and input.

Yes. The process makes for great optics. Very easy PR wins.