POULSBO — The decision about where Little Norway’s next city hall should be might seem as simple as 10th Avenue or downtown.

However, when the city council and Mayor Kathryn Quade met to discuss the wording of the Nov. 7 advisory ballot, the right words proved elusive.

“We have a couple of deadlines, one of which is the submission for the voters’ pamphlet, and we also have to have the wording of the ballot, which must be adopted by resolution,” Quade told the council.

The initial wording referred to “a site within the Downtown Core of the City (downtown site) or “a site owned by the city on 10th Avenue NE (the 10th Avenue site).”

That wording was different than an earlier draft, which referred to “the site of the existing city hall and King Olav Parking Lot” and “the site owned by the City in the 19200 block of 10th Avenue NE.”

After reviewing the wording, Councilman Dale Rudolph reminded Quade and the rest of the council that the “apples-to-apples” comparison done by Parametrix consultants didn’t include the King Olav parking lot.

“I just don’t want people to be thinking that it’s exactly the same,” Rudolph said.

The 10th Avenue site has outdoor amenities that the downtown alternative doesn’t and having those amenities downtown might cost more, Rudolph said.

Quade responded that the council spent more time on the 10th Avenue site than the downtown site, so the downtown option is not as clearly defined.

Quade recommended simply having a downtown site or the 10th Avenue site on the ballot and allowing voters to decide on that basis.

“Like everything else on a ballot, if you don’t do your homework, that’s a risk,” Rudolph replied. “If you want to see what downtown looks like or go with a sure thing.”

Councilman Mike Regis added that the council must define the downtown site or it risks being unfair to the public.

“If we’re talking about the existing site, plus a site, plus a public parking lot, I don’t think we’re being fair to the public,” Regis said. “I think we need to look at it in that sense.”

Rudolph said he wouldn’t feel bad if the council sent the issue to the voters with a comparable building at a comparable price with outdoor amenities at 10th Avenue or one without downtown.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t do better for more money, but I wouldn’t want to see a third choice,” Rudolph said.

After listening to both sides, Councilman Jim Henry offered a compromise using the existing city hall site as the core of the downtown site.

“This is going to be the core area, and we can expand from this core to include things,” Henry said.

Rudolph said that wording would allow the city flexibility in the final location of the downtown alternative without being painted into a corner.

Quade said she hopes to have a final draft of the ballot issue ready for the Aug. 16 council meeting, so it can be adopted by resolution and sent to the county auditor’s office.

As per state law, Quade announced Bill Lockard will lead the effort to write the 10th Avenue information for the voters’ guide and Linda Barry-Maraist will lead the downtown alternative information effort. Their appointments will be formalized by the council at the Aug. 16 meeting as well.

Once the council adopts the ballot ordinance, the county auditor’s office will submit it to the county attorney for review, said Suzanne Boltz, Kitsap County assistant elections manager.

The county attorney will ensure that it meets the legal requirements under state law and return it to the city council for final approval, Boltz said.

As long as the city meets the Sept. 22 deadline for submission, the issue should be on the Nov. 7 ballot, Boltz said. The deadline for the voters guide information is Sept. 25.