Seconds, anyone?

COEUR d'ALENE - Councilman Ron Edinger's motion will receive a second.

Then whether the McEuen Field project should be put to a public advisory vote will be up for the City Council to decide Tuesday, Jan. 17, the first full meeting for new councilmen and vote-supporters Dan Gookin and Steve Adams.

"I just want to put it on the agenda to see if I can get a second, and discuss it, and see if we can get a vote out of it," said Edinger, who requested the topic be penciled in for the next meeting. "It should be interesting."

Edinger made several motions requesting the fate of the downtown park's multi-million dollar conceptual design be put to a public advisory vote in 2011, without ever receiving a second.

With the election of Adams and Gookin, who were seated Tuesday, that's expected to change.

Both campaigned on supporting a public advisory vote for McEuen Field, and both said this week they would second another attempt by Edinger - so the vote on the vote will take place.

"I guess until the meeting is over, I'm still holding out hope, I'm still optimistic, that one of them will switch," Adams said of the non-vote supporting council members.

When a motion receives a second, the council is open to discuss it, which is when the members typically explain which way they plan to vote, and why.

Council members Mike Kennedy, Woody McEvers and Deanna Goodlander never seconded Edinger's motions, and said this week they still don't favor the idea of an advisory vote.

"Have I changed my mind for a public advisory vote on McEuen Field? No, I have not," said Goodlander. "I think it's our job. You just don't take a vote on a park project. You take a vote on a bond issue. I don't think you can govern efficiently by taking a public vote on every controversial issue."

McEvers said the idea of putting a park's development out to a public vote seems "odd," but he's not making up his mind until the topic is thoroughly vetted in two weeks.

"I actually look forward to it," McEvers said. "We'll have some good discussions."

But both he and Kennedy said it could be a slippery slope for the City Council to follow if it puts the polarizing, controversial topic out to a public vote because it begs the question of what else could follow the advisory vote format.

Is it a dollar amount that would make McEuen Field go out to vote? If so, does that same dollar figure require votes for future projects? And what would the ballot even ask? Dozens of proposed amenities, from dog park to public art, are a part of the conceptual plan, adopted by the City Council in May, on the idea that they could be built years, even decades, down the line. And what if the ballot comes back 50/50?

Kennedy said he would prefer opening the park plan up to more modifications, including keeping a boat launch ramp if that's the desire of the public.

"I don't want to go through the futile exercise," he said of the advisory vote. "I just want to get things done."

An advisory vote is a non-binding vote, meaning the council could consider its result when deciding the park's future, but doesn't have to.

Edinger had said in the past, including at a candidates debate on the campaign trail before the election, that he was unsure if he would support the park project even if an advisory vote came back in favor of it.

On Thursday, he said he would follow the will of the people, whichever way it turned out.

"I will accept what the public comes back with," he said.

If the council vote ties 3 to 3, Mayor Sandi Bloem would be the deciding vote. She has consistently said that good park planning doesn't call for an advisory vote. Meanwhile, Team McEuen, the park's designers, are waiting for direction from the City Council before doing anything else with the park plan.

At last check, the city could put in phase one of the project, called the footprint, at a high end cost of $17.2 million. It has roughly $15 million identified as possible revenue to pay for it, not including fundraising or donations. The city is also working on securing sites for a new baseball field and boat launch, both required as part of the "equal or better" pledge it promised citizens if it decided to remove either of those amenities from McEuen Field.

Phase one would include three major components that have been on the city's radar for years: building a parking structure, re-doing Front Avenue, and adding green space to the park.

"I'm really comfortable where we're at," Goodlander said.

The Jan. 17 meeting will not be a public hearing, but people can speak for up to five minutes each during the public comment portion. The meeting is at 6 p.m. in the Community Room of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.