MARIETTA - Late Wednesday night during a special committee meeting, the Marietta City Council approved a list specifying how money would be spent should voters approve a $25 million bond for park improvements on Nov. 3.

Since the ballot will just have a general question about whether voters want to approve the bond, the council took the step Wednesday night of creating a list the city can present to the public in brochure form before the election.

"I think the City Council did well tonight. I hope that the message that voters will get is one that they're going to get over the next couple weeks from all of us, which I hope will fully explain why these numbers are there," Mayor Bill Dunaway said after the meeting.

At the recommendation of Councilman Grif Chalfant, the council voted 5-2, with Philip Goldstein and Annette Lewis opposing, to adopt the list, which now leaves committee to be voted on again at the council meeting on Sept. 9. As part of the motion, it was decided that, if the $25 million bond passes, the next council in January will appoint a citizens committee to be involved in overseeing how the money is spent.

The list of earmarks the council adopted Wednesday is the same one Councilwoman Holly Walquist, who has spearheaded the parks bond, unveiled earlier this week. That list breaks down into $5 million for land acquisition; $11 million for improvements to existing parks and facilities; $5 million for the development of new and existing parks, facilities and trails; and $4 million for planning and design costs.

The list further breaks down the $11 million for improvements to existing parks and facilities, listing, for instance, $1.75 million for Hickory Hills Park.

"The dollars are pretty well set. It won't be finalized until the September night meeting. When they vote then, assuming they pass this list, it will be a very firm list of numbers," City attorney Doug Haynie said.

Of the $11 million Walquist would spend on existing city parks and facilities, the Elizabeth Porter Recreation Center would receive the most at $3.75 million.

Another center that would benefit is the Lawrence Street Community Center, which sits on 2.1 acres near the Hanley-Shelton Funeral Home. Walquist earmarks $1.1 million for the Lawrence Center's improvements.

Walquist's list drastically decreases funding for the controversial 28-acre Wildwood Park on Barclay Circle and the nearby 45.6-acre Burruss Nature Park on South Cobb Drive - two parks that have been popular destination points for illicit activities for decades. Walquist cuts funding for Burruss from the council's June draft amount of $1.2 million to $250,000. She slashes Wildwood funding from the June draft amount of $1.8 million to $300,000.

"I'm pleased because we do have a detailed project cost list for the voters. That was very important just because it's important how we are going to spend the money, what the intentions are to spend the money," Walquist said after the meeting.

Equally important, Walquist said, is that a citizens committee is formed, "because we want to make sure that should the bond pass that citizens are going to be able to give us a lot of input as to what they want in the parks with those specific dollars that are allocated."

Walquist hopes the new council will follow the list as closely as possible.

"You know, even if we made some cuts from one park to the other, they'll determine, well, we might not be able to have 10 benches, we might only be able to have five, or we might not be able to have a gazebo, but we might be able to have a picnic table, so they'll just work within those dollars for improvements," Walquist said.

The council voted 4-3, Aug. 12 with Goldstein, Lewis and the Rev. Anthony Coleman opposed, to put the $25 million parks bond on the Nov. 3 ballot.