Several residents used the public-comment period on Oct. 22 to urge the Payson Common Council to take positions on a proposed $16 million bond to build a new community pool and on alternative projects and sites.

Supporters: Mike Quinn told the council a new pool would increase home values and argued a negative council vote would permanently foreclose a pool project. Quinn said research (which he attributed to artificial intelligence searches) suggested a new pool can increase home values by roughly 4% over time and urged council members to support the bond.

Opponents and cautionary voices: Multiple speakers, including a woman who identified herself as Brooke Myers and speaker who identified as Tom Dunning, urged the council to consider fiscal impacts and competing priorities. A public commenter said a $16 million bond is a large commitment for a town of Payson's size and could raise property taxes or fees for decades (the speaker asserted a 25-year repayment rather than a 20-year term). Other speakers asked for more detailed cost estimates for two candidate sites: the Malibu site and the Taylor site.

Judy Hansen, who identified herself as an appraiser and former government auctioneer, requested line-item cost estimates for site preparation at the Malibu site (removal of boulders and trees, sewer and utility extension, and basic bathrooms). She noted Ryder Lovett and Buckmill's cost estimate for the Taylor site at about $4,732,000 and asked why Malibu would be only six lanes when Taylor had been presented as eight lanes and included a therapeutic pool.

Council response: Council members said the pool bond is a separate public vote and that council should wait for the election results. Several council members said they prefer to delay other financial commitments (such as dedicating new sales-tax revenues) until after voters decide on the pool. Council discussion at the meeting later tied the outcome of the pool bond to the deliberation on Resolution 34-64.

Why it matters: The proposed bond would represent a major capital commitment for Payson; residents at the meeting expressed differing views on neighborhood benefits, long-term costs and whether the town should prioritize other infrastructure needs.

Officials and next steps: The bond will be decided by voters in an upcoming election; council members said staff can provide more detailed cost breakdowns for proposed sites and that future council discussions will follow the election outcome.