Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin has responded from his vacation in Greece to a challenge from Mayor Mike McGinn to debate the topic of tunnel cost-overruns in a public forum.

In a statement released this morning, Conlin said:

We do not need more debate at this stage of implementation; rather, we need to work collaboratively with our partners to solve outstanding and complex problems. Council will work to draft and sign clear agreements that protect the interests of people who live, work, and play in Seattle and throughout our region.

That's a "no." The Stranger newspaper had secured a venue for the debate and has been heckling Conlin to commit.

Conlin was up for discussing the details of the project earlier this week, when he posted a blog item defending his position that the tunnel project should move forward.

Now that a public debate is on the table, however, he says no more debate is needed.

UPDATE at 1:41 pm: Mayor McGinn hit reply-all and responded to Conlin (and the media, and some council staff) with this e-mail:

Council President Conlin wrote:

"Council will work to draft and sign clear agreements that protect the interests of people who live, work, and play in Seattle and throughout our region."

The question is -- how? That is what deserves public debate.