The Vineyard City Council unanimously voted Wednesday night to cancel a previously passed bond parameter resolution to fund a new city center after facing pushback from residents.

Though several City Council members acknowledged the need for a larger space to accommodate city staff, some felt they would not be properly representing their constituents if they continued forward with the bond process in its current phase.

“I made it really clear that when we met and we were going over the vote to start the bond parameter process, that not only I wanted to understand the payments, but I also wanted community buy-in. And I don’t feel like that has happened,” Councilwoman Mardi Sifuentes said.

The city authorized the issuance and sale of a sales tax revenue bond April 3 with the understanding the bond would be no higher than $35 million with an interest rate no higher than 6% with no more than a 30-year payment length and be funded by sales tax.

There was also a stipulation the city would hold a May 14 public hearing on the matter.

The decision faced immediate scrutiny by some residents, who felt the bond was passed without proper transparency and that the cost was too high. A referendum effort was launched to try and overturn the decision on the November ballot.

“For months they’ve been saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to have all these town halls and forums talking about the bond, whether we can pay for it,'” referendum co-signer and Vineyard resident Jacob Wood told the Daily Herald in April. “But then the mayor put it on the agenda, the actual bond, and then a couple City Council members were like, ‘Oh we don’t have all the details yet.’ But then, like, two minutes later, they passed it.”

During Wednesday’s meeting, the city’s fiduciary, LRB Public Finance Advisors, laid out more specific bond parameters.

The bond would have an assumed a $31 million project fund amount with Vineyard paying for 54% of the amount and Mountainland Association of Governments paying for 46%. Vineyard’s payment, which would be made through sales tax and franchise tax revenue, was estimated to begin at $740,000 and go up to a full payment of $1.4 million annually.

The city would also be responsible for 74% of the debt service ratio. And LRB expected Vineyard, which made $3.2 in sales tax revenue in 2024, would increase its sales tax revenue by at least 4% going forward and have a sufficient minimum debt service coverage ratio to pay for the project.

“With these uber, uber, conservative projections of your growth, you can see that you still have significant debt service coverage,” LRB owner Laura Lewis said.

After Lewis’ presentation, several community members spoke out against the bond during a public comment period. When the issue came back to the council to make a decision, several members said they believed the bond parameters were feasible, but felt the they were too disconnected with the public to approve it.

“I truly believe that when I look at all of the analysis that we’ve seen from LRB, and when we’re looking at our budget, that what we have in front of us is affordable. However, I also agree that our ability to communicate that well and clearly and not leave room for misinterpretation — I think we’ve missed that opportunity,” Councilman Brett Clawson said.

Clawson said when people he thought were uninterested in city politics approached him about their concerns, that’s when the “red flags” came out. Sifuentes added that people brought up the issue to her in interactions at her local business and in social situations.

“I think that it’s been made into a political situation, but I also believe that there are genuine concerns that have to be approached,” she said.

Councilwoman Sara Cameron appeared to be a proponent of the bond, though she ultimately voted alongside the rest of the council to cancel it.

She expressed frustration over “misinformation” surrounding the bond, particularly with how many people believed it was going to raise property taxes.

“It’s super frustrating to me, because we give the facts, and then they take the facts, flip them on their head, and pour gasoline on them and spread them out to the community, so the community is terrified,” Cameron said.

“Our staff work so hard to give you the beautiful city that you live in and then (you) suggest that they go in a double-wide trailer.”

Now that the bond is canceled, the city will return to a planning phase on the project, where Mayor Julie Fullmer said the city is currently 15% finished with the design phase.

“I feel like today, it was clear that the information that is going out there doesn’t really represent some of the things that we need to help get across as we plan for the future of this building, and at 15%, we have an opportunity to keep planning,” Fullmer said. ” …  It will cost a little bit more for us to take this time to plan longer, but I feel like the community needs it.”