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November 7, 2001
By Janelle Holden Emotions ran high at City Hall on Tuesday night as gathered supporters of the proposed Cortez recreation center waited impatiently for news. It was worth the wait. The $8.9 million bond issue — Ballot Measure 2A — passed by a vote of 851 to 724. "I knew it was going to be close, but we won by more than was expected," said Bob Diederich, chairman of Friends of the Center, the group lobbying for the measure. Turnout was relatively high compared to previous city ballot issues, although those who voted on the rec center only represented 34 percent of all registered city voters.
City staff and rec-center lobbyists said they were surprised by the outcome, but pleased. "We can do these kinds of things here for our community and for the people," said an almost teary-eyed Mayor Joe Keck. City Manager Hal Shepherd said the center would benefit all age groups, and help draw new business to the area. "I think it’s a real important step for the community," said Shepherd, who called the coming rec center the "crown jewel" of the city’s park system. "Not many communities of our size have such a facility." Now that the bond issue has passed, residents will pay an extra 55 cents for every $100 purchase in the city, an increase of 0.55 percent. The city sales tax will now rise to a total of 4.05 percent. The extra revenue will fund the 43,000-square-foot center, which will be managed by Cortez Parks and Recreation at the north end of Parque de Vida. The handicapped-accessible facility will include a family pool, water slide, indoor jogging track, a six-lane lap pool and diving board, basketball and volleyball courts, multi-purpose rooms, an exercise area for aerobic machines, day care, office space, and, thanks to a $500,000 state energy-impact grant, racquetball courts. A 1990 initiative to pool funds from city and county initiatives for a center fail to garner enough support, and a similar bond issue was rejected by voters in 1994. The third time around was charmed for the rec center, but it sparked a heated debate among both city and county residents. "I want to call Ken Banks and tell him he’s a loser," said council member Jim Herrick concerning one particularly vocal opponent of the center. City opponents argued the tax could ill be afforded by the working poor, who aren’t likely to use the facility. City Hall also heard from angry county residents Tuesday, who argued the issue should have been a county-wide vote since county shoppers will also have to pay the additional sales tax. Keck said the city wanted it to be a county issue. "We asked the county commissioners to make this a county-wide vote, but they said it wasn’t appropriate and that it should be the city’s responsibility," said Keck.
But Keck also said he thought the city could prove the recreation center’s worth to county residents over time. "We have to work to show everybody that the money is going to be well-spent, and well-managed," said Keck, who predicted the center would run at 70 to 80 percent self-sufficiency in time. Shepherd and Cortez Parks and Recreation Director Chris Burkett said the center should be up and running in 18 months, and construction could begin as early as this winter. Diederich said the Friends of the Center will begin working on building a foundation to fund the center and scholarships for low-income users. Center operating funds will be paid for by a $300,000-per-year city subsidy that is built into the bond package. But city managers expect to use only $115,000 of that to staff and operate the center per year. The rest will go into a cushion fund to pay for operating costs after the bond sunsets. As a result, no money from Cortez’s general fund would be needed for operations for 30 years, managers predict.
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Copyright © 2001 the Cortez
Journal. All rights reserved. |
