A Magician's Choice In South Whitehall

One of the South Whitehall Commissioners is an amateur magician.  He is amusing himself giving the residents of South Whitehall a magician's choice, times two, about Wehr's Dam.  A magician's choice is when the audience thinks that they are choosing the card, when in reality, they are steered to that pick.  He got one price to repair the dam, and another to replace it.  He reported that the dam replacement would cost $1.9 million,  so they choose a middle proposal, to only replace 1/3 of the dam, for $600,000.  Although, to the uninformed, it sounds like a reasonable compromise,  it's based on a false comparison.  No portion of the dam needs to be replaced,  all that is needed is a minor repair.  The second portion of the two part trick is putting the issue to referendum.  He knows that the residents never vote themselves a tax increase.  The magician thinks that he can accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy with another dam demolition, and suffer no political consequence.   To me,  they're stealing the history of the township. They are also robbing the citizens,  current and future, of a place of great beauty, which has been enjoyed for over 100 years.  That theft will be their legacy.