NORTH BEND – Those hoping to resolve the Tollgate Farm dispute may have to wait to receive a final answer until at least November.

The primary vote on the $3.56 million bond levy last week was too close to call for a majority of the North Bend City Council, who voted to put the bond on the ballot again on Nov. 6 in the general election.

“We need to take the measure and put it on the ballot again,” Councilman Mark Sollitto said at the meeting last Tuesday. “We need to provide an opportunity for even more people to vote.”

Only Councilman Jim Gildersleeve, an opponent of the Tollgate Farm “central meadow” purchase, voted against putting the bond on the ballot again. Gildersleeve recently recused himself from any further debate on Tollgate because of his opposition to the bond.

“I must admit I was surprised [at the vote],” Gildersleeve said. “It was an interesting show of the people’s will.”

The decision was made as early results from the election were still inconclusive. The bond, which needs 60 percent of the vote pass, hovered around 59 percent approval last week. As the Valley Record went to press, the levy had garnered 58.5 percent of the vote, or 576 “yes” votes to 409 “no” votes.

Council members and supporters of the purchase explained that although there were more than enough votes cast to validate the vote – they needed 804 – there may not have been enough people at the polls to truly represent the city of North Bend. With the attack on America only a week prior and the announcement of Boeing layoffs that morning, many thought a trip to the ballot box was the last thing on the minds of a lot of people.

“There was a lot of stress and confusion this past week,” North Bend Mayor Joan Simpson said.

Council members were open in noting their motives for putting the bond on the November ballot, saying they would like to gather more support for the passage of the bond.

City Councilman Ed Carlson entertained the idea of putting the bond not only on the November ballot, but on the ballot in February as well. He said since there would likely be no other major issues on the ballot, a vote in February would ensure that residents of North Bend would be voting almost exclusively for or against the bond.

The council members decided, however, just to put the vote on the November ballot, saying they would have time to put it on the February ballot if they wanted to.

“I would have liked to have seen a February vote,” said Simpson. “But it was the will of the council to go forward.”

Opponents of the bond said the vote was indicative of the strain North Bend residents feel under current building codes and regulations. George Wyrsch, who owns the Texaco in North Bend, said the bond is bad economics. To him, the bond is another deterrent to future businesses coming to an already hostile development environment.

“The point of the whole downtown revitalization has been to attract business off of I-90 and into our community,” Wyrsch said. “The only way you can do that is to have customers come through.”

Although he said he can sympathize with the appreciation of the rural character of North Bend, Wyrsch believes the bond gets in the way of another factor in determining quality of life: more jobs.

“To me it’s just a motherhood and apple pie thing. It’s not good for business,” Wyrsch said. “We can’t afford it. It’s strictly a business position.”

Gildersleeve said he hopes to mount a more organized resistance against the levy in the coming weeks. He recently sent out about 1,800 flyers to registered voters in North Bend, encouraging them to vote against the bond measure. He said the response to the flyers has been positive.

“People were coming out of the woodwork saying there were going to vote against the bond,” Gildersleeve said. “I think it will be easier to defeat in November.”

Friends of Tollgate member Jack Webber said the vote boiled down to simple disinformation. Since only 15 percent of registered voters in North Bend voted against the bond, Webber believes a more personal effort by supporters can sway the vote to their favor. Friends of Tollgate officially disbanded last Tuesday, but he is confident supporters of the bond will rally more time and money for another attempt.

“We need to truly and honestly sit down with people and explain the complexity of the issue,” Webber said.

Although Webber himself said he would strive for a February vote if the November one fails, he is not sure if supporters would be so willing.

“The voters of the Valley are very sophisticated,” Webber said. “I’d hate to bring it up in February when the focus should be on the schools, but I think the voters will be able to differentiate between the two.”

Opponents of the bond, however, seem skeptical of any further maneuvering to buy the farm.

“If the November vote fails, they’ll get a February vote and if that fails then they will probably end up buying it anyway,” Wyrsch said.

Discussion of the revised Tollgate Farm master plans, which were first presented at the Aug. 21 city council meeting, was delayed until the Sept. 25 meeting, which occurred after the Valley Record’s press time.