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Stephanie Wiechmann
The $ 3.5 million in bonds will pay for improvements at Southway Plaza and High Street Square in front of Muncie Central High School, and upgrades and repairs at a number of parks. Last month, after a contentious exchange between council members and Mayor Dan Ridenour, the city council voted down the bonds, then rescinded the vote and table the ordinance that led Ridenour to ask the Muncie Redevelopment Commission to promise to pay for projects from its funds if the bonds weren't approved in July.

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Stephanie Wiechmann
But Ridenour said the MRC didn't have the cash for everything.

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Dan Ridenour
What the MRC did is they gave up back up funding for the economic development sites of these. But there is not enough. There is not enough cash. There's not enough money to do the parks.

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Stephanie Wiechmann
Parks Department Superintendent Carl Malone says every park needed a facelift when Ridenour’s administration took office in January 2020. He also says many city parks departments ask for bonds, including in affluent counties, before voting 7 to 2 to approve the bonds. Republican Councilwoman Ro Selvey says her vote was based on what the bonds could do.

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Ro Selvey
There's times we should be tight with money and be careful how we spend it. We have a responsibility to think about the people and how that's going to impact their personal life and their families.

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Stephanie Wiechmann
One of the two no votes came from council president and Democrat Jeff Robinson. He has repeatedly said he doesn't think the city should borrow money for non-necessary projects. In Muncie, Stephanie Wiechmann, IPR news.