City Council president Richard Conlin—whom mayor Mike McGinn challenged to a debate over the Alaskan Way deep-bore tunnel earlier this week—sent out an email this morning saying, pretty unequivocally, no thanks.

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.

The council, with the exception of Mike O'Brien , has been sanguine about the possibility of cost overruns on the tunnel, saying that the city will not be on the hook if there are overruns, and that the contingencies built into the tunnel plan make overruns unlikely.

Conlin's office confirms that his email constitutes a definite "no" to McGinn, whose relationship with the council has been increasingly testy of late.