Bond Issue ExaminedA bond issue seems to be the most practical route to fund the $1.7 million price tag attached to the Speedway Parks’ Master Plan. President Tim Raimon presented the final plan to the town council January 31, noting the entire plan does not have to be implemented. It was more of an exploratory meeting between the park board and council to examine the plan and the bond’s financial impact on taxpayers. The park board has pared down the list into the must haves and high priority items on the list. The “must haves” are new playground equipment, updated restrooms at Meadowood Park, widening the walking paths to eight feet at both parks, and altering the cable access road through Leonard Park. “The new playground equipment is a must for both parks. The last new piece of equipment was a merry-go-round installed four years ago at Leonard Park. We take more equipment out because of safety issues,” Raimon said. An item high on the list is a splash pad for Leonard Park. The board thought it would make a nice park feature, but it is not a must have. Councilor Lu Hillmer requested a splash pad for Meadowood Park, but Raimon said it was not conducive because of all of the shade trees. Master plan designers Daryn Fair and Dan Weinheimer of American Consulting were present to offer additional advice. Fair said it is better not to duplicate activities at both parks to attract different users. Lisa Edington, park board member, noted a skateboard park has been discussed for Meadowood Park where the current basketball pad is located. The skateboard park plan is in a transition stage. Raimon said discussions are starting with the owner of Ultra Violet about the possibility of opening an indoor skateboard park in town. Construction time and displacing park users were some of the other concerns raised by Hillmer. Weinheimer noted it could be done in phases, but it would be cheaper to do the entire project all at once. This would involve shutting one of the parks down. The optimal time to start construction to have minimal impact on park users would be in the fall when children return to school. The project would be halted during the winter with the intentions to be completed once warm weather returned. The council preferred no improvement activities occur at Meadowood until the drainage issues are resolved. “The drainage needs to be taken care before anything is done,” Councilman Dean Farmer said. Street Department Commissioner Wendall Walters and Park Superintendent Mike Smith presented a drainage plan to the storm drainage board January 18, but the board chose not to address the issue because of the pending flood issues on Gerrard Avenue Allison Avenue from the 2100 block to 16th Street. The council also prioritized this area over the park drainage problems. They dismissed the problem saying Meadowood Park has always had drainage issues. Maybe it was the economic investment into the parks that has caused a change in attitude to look at the Meadowood drainage problem again. Councilman Bill Golay said the issue would be raised again at the next storm water drainage meeting Feb 8. Walters informed the council that Smith designed the plan based on old drainage maps. The estimated cost is $16,000. Not meaning to discount Smith’s efforts, Hillmer still recommended an engineer look at the plan. The drainage project was not included in the $1.7 million master plan. Town Attorney Kim Blanchet said the park board is a separate taxing entity with its own levy. The formula used is two percent of the assessed valuation divided by three, which would allow the park board to bond $4.4 million dollars. The council still needs to pass a bond ordinance to start the process even though the park board is a separate taxing entity. Blanchet noted it would take about six months to complete a bond issue that would involve a public hearing before the bonds could be sold, and approval from the Department of Local Government Finance. “But they are not going to get that much,” Hillmer quipped. She doubted if taxpayers would notice a difference of a few pennies increased on $100 per assessed valuation. “I am sure they would notice it,” Council President Jeff Hartman said. “Somebody will,” Farmer said. On Feburary 8, the stormwater drainage board approved of the park drainage plan. The vote stipulated the cost could not exceed $16,000. Smith estimated the project would cost $13,577. |
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