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GREENSBORO — The wish list is long — and the price tag is substantial.

Residents on Wednesday  will get a chance to tell City Council exactly what they think about the $205  million proposed bond package put forward by city leaders.

If the bond referenda are put on the ballot by City Council and passed by voters in the fall, the money raised would pay for transportation projects, a coliseum renovation, a new community pool or other parks and recreation projects, and various Housing and Community Development initiatives over the next few years.

If all the referenda pass, the bonds would add an estimated 2.5 cents to the tax starting in 2009. That’s an extra $50 to the owner of a $200,000 home.

Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Wednesday  in council chambers.

The list of projects proposed by the city include new initiatives and some that have been recommended in the past.

How the city wants to spend the money:

* $50 million for  War Memorial Auditorium

Coliseum Director Matt Brown  puts it this way: If the city is not going to renovate the 49-year-old War Memorial Auditorium, they should bulldoze it.

Supporters and staff of the Coliseum complex say its condition is embarrassing.

The aging infrastructure — such as a pipe that burst in a performer’s dressing room in the last year — can be a turnoff for acts that have a choice of venues.

“Major artists will not perform here with this kind of facility,” Brown said.

The city has plans to build a new auditorium inside the shell of the old building. The upgrade will add rest rooms, improve the acoustics of the performance space and make the building accessible for disabled patrons.

Backstage improvements will make the space ready for Broadway-quality productions  such as “Phantom of the Opera” or “The Lion King,” Brown said.

Council members are worried that the renovation referendum may face an uphill battle, considering the history. Voters turned down a $36  million bond referendum for the auditorium renovation in 2006. And since then, construction costs have blossomed. 

* $20 million for Parks and Recreation

City staff originally proposed using the $20  million on a variety of projects, including pool and tennis court repairs and Hester Park artificial turf installation.

Councilman Mike Barber  has also advocated using some of the $20 million on a new competitive swim center for Greensboro.

“Some hard choices are going to have to be made,” said Candice Bruton , planning and project development manager for Parks and Recreation.

Parks and Recreation officials have a $10.2  million pool on their long-term plan for improvements. But the money would support one 50-meter pool.

A multi-pool, regional competition-level facility might cost $15.2 million , city staff estimate. Parks and Recreation staff would still have to scope out a location and design the project, Bruton said.

A swim center has been a losing proposition in previous years.

A regional pool project failed at the polls in 2006.

* $134 million for transportation projects

The transportation package includes dozens of street, sidewalk, intersection and trail improvement projects to be completed or started in the next five to seven years.

Based on council pressure, city officials moved the $26 million  Horsepen Creek Road improvements, the $6.3  million Alamance Church Road improvements and a $7.5  million Summit Avenue streetscape project onto the list of top priorities.

Other projects that will be started in the short term include the $4.5  million Cone Boulevard-Battleground Avenue  intersection renovation and a $2.2  million East Wendover Avenue sidewalk addition. * $1 million for Housing and Community Development

If approved by voters, the city would use the $1 million for special needs housing, workforce housing and foreclosure protection initiatives, said Andy Scott , Greensboro’s director of Housing and Community Development.

The money would boost the work the department already does matching city and federal funds with private investment for community improvement projects.

Since 1990, the city has invested $56  million in projects that have added $300  million to the tax base, Scott said.

“That’s what we would do with this money,” Scott said.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com