Parks bond proposed
July 9, 2008
By Emily Keller
Package could cost homeowners about $95 per year in property taxes
Sammamish residents may have an all-ages recreation center in their future, and they may be asked to help fund its construction.
The City Council is nearing a decision on whether to ask voters to support a park bond of about $18 million, as well as a levy lid lift of about $20 per year in November. The Parks and Recreation Department would use the bond funds for a recreation center and other capital construction projects including land acquisition for a new park in the city’s northeast quadrant, a multi-use ball field at Eastlake High School, a trail connecting the Beaver Lake Park and Beaver Lake Preserve and improvements to Sammamish Landing and East Sammamish Park. The levy would be used for operations and maintenance.
A ballot initiative requires 60 percent voter support to pass. If the council approves a park bond and voters support it, homeowners would pay 12 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value, or about $75 per year for a home worth $600,000. The extra taxes would be assessed for 20 years.
A levy lid lift for parks would cost the same homeowner $20 per year above the existing property tax levy, or 3.2 cents per thousand dollars of assessed value. The Parks Department is still deciding how many years that would last.
A recent phone survey of about 300 Sammamish residents indicated there may be sufficient support for those measures.
Nearly three out of four residents (74.2 percent) said parks and recreation are very important to their families.
According to the survey, the most popular park bond project is land acquisition, which yielded high support from 64.1 percent of respondents and medium support from 21.6 percent. That was followed by new trails with 56.5 percent offering high support and 25 percent offering medium, Sammamish Landing with 54.4 percent high support and 26.1 percent medium and athletic fields with 52.2 percent high support and 29.2 percent medium.
When it comes to paying for all of it, support, while still present, is not as fervent.
When respondents were asked whether they favored measures to fund those projects, 59.3 percent offered high support for a $17 million park bond and 22 percent offered medium support. The property tax levy proposal received high support from 58.5 percent of respondents and medium support from 22.1 percent.
Sixty-one and three-tenths percent of respondents said they have a strong interest in a community center, and 19 percent offered medium support.
However, those numbers dropped when they were asked if they would support a $24 million park bond and levy lift to pay for it. Thirty-nine percent of respondents strongly supported that proposal, and 27.8 percent offered medium support.
Jessi Richardson, director of the Parks Department, attributed the relatively low support to a lack of available details about that facility.
“It’s really hard, I think, for people to think about what it looks like,” she said.
The proposed bond contains $5 million toward a partnership with a local non-profit for a youth and teen center, which the department is revising to an all-ages recreation center. The most likely partner is the Boys and Girls Club, and the facility would be located in the existing library, 825 228th Avenue Northeast, after the library relocates, according to city officials. However, details have not been finalized.
Several council members said they are ready to support the initiatives anyway.
Mayor Lee Fellinge said he favors the measures during a July 1 council meeting.
“Overall, I find this package very attractive. It provides a number of things we have seen people really want. I would much rather do that than stuff it in the existing tight budget,” Fellinge said.
Councilwoman Michele Petitti also offered her support, saying the council has talked about the need for a community or recreation center for the seven years she has been a member and that it is time to take action.
Councilwoman Nancy Whitten said she personally supports the proposals but has mixed feelings about whether to put them on the ballot.
She noted the council has also discussed the possibility of a tax increase within the next decade to fund increasing maintenance costs in the city.
The council advised the department to revise language from the original proposal to change “youth/teen center” to “recreation center” and clarify that services will be offered to people of all ages in order to maximize the facility’s use and increase voter support.
“I think if we can market it more broadly than a youth and teen center it will draw other people in,” said Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay.
The council is expected to make a decision on the proposed park bond and levy at its July 15 meeting, Richardson said.
Reporter Emily Keller can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or ekeller@isspress.com.
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