Does This Proposition Include a New Recreation and Community Center with a Commercial Kitchen like the Prior One in 2019?
The Quick Answer
No.
This Proposition includes plans for only a 48,000-square-foot aquatic center.
The plans do not include any facilities for a senior center, gym, indoor track, or commercial kitchen.
We are being asked to pay more for less. After voters defeated the 2019 Pool Bond issue (presumably because they felt it was too expensive) we are being asked to vote for a new Metropolitan Park District, with taxes significantly higher than the 2019 bond issue proposed, yet with a drastically smaller scope.
The Details
Paying More for Less
The current Proposition 1 includes plans only for a 48,000-square-foot aquatic center. The City estimates that it will cost the median-valued household $421 per year in new taxes.
The 2019 Bond Issue, which was defeated by the voters (presumably for being too expensive), included plans for a 75,000-square-foot facility, including not just a pool, but also a gym, weight rooms, indoor track, commercial kitchen, and senior center. It also included funding for improvements to four City parks. That was estimated to cost the median-valued household just $244 per year.
(The Park improvements that were included in the failed 2019 Pool bond issue were later included in the 2022 Park Bond issue for which the median-valued household is currently paying $144/year.)