The Englewood City Council has given initial approval to asking voters if they support a $41-million bond to fund improvements to parks. But, because of charter issues and citizen initiatives the measure might not be placed on the ballot in November.
“Overall, there is a need for improvements to the parks,” Mayor Othoniel Sierra said at a July 22 council meeting. “I’ve heard from a lot of neighbors. They want to see it. They may not be in favor of all of it, but I want to bring this question to them so they can make the ultimate decision.”
In a 5-2 vote, the council approved an ordinance that would set the vote on the parks bond, called a general obligation, or GO bond, for Election Day in November.
However, the bond might not appear on the ballot because of charter issues and two other potential ballot questions initiated by citizens, which are currently in the signature-gathering phase.
“If either petition is sufficient to place a ballot question on the November ballot, then the city’s proposed general obligation bond for parks improvements cannot be on the ballot pursuant to Englewood Home Rule Charter Sections 14 and 104,” said staff documents prepared for the council.
The council also approved two potential ballot questions proposed by District 3 Councilmember Joe Anderson, which would appear on the ballot if the citizen initiatives prevented the bond from being there.
The citizen initiatives are spearheaded by resident Matt Crabtree, who spoke during the public comment session at the meeting.
“I want to make it clear that the two citizen initiatives that are currently being circulated right now for the charter questions, at no point were those intended to interfere with the GO bond,” Crabtree said. “That is an unfortunate coincidence.”
The citizen petitions would place questions on the ballot pertaining to direct mayoral elections and vacancy procedures. The petitioners have until Aug. 7 to collect the 1,100 valid signatures required for each question to go on the ballot.
Asked by the council if he and others involved in the initiatives would withdraw their efforts in consideration of the parks bond, Crabtree said no, citing the importance of appealing to as many voters as possible.
Voters could be asked to remove the procedural hurdles that could prevent the parks bond from being placed on the ballot in November. One of Anderson’s proposed ballot questions would ask voters to remove “Charter 14 and 104’s restrictions on General Obligation ballot question timing” if the bond can’t appear in the upcoming cycle.
“If passed, the city could place (future) GO Bond ballot questions whenever allowed under TABOR — in November — whether or not there are other City questions on the ballot,” documents said.
The council approved that measure and another regarding ranked choice voting, in a 4-3 vote.
All of these developments followed the council’s decision in a July 15 meeting to shelve a $6 million pool project at Miller Field that Anderson and other members had hoped to include in the general obligation bond. The then $42 million bond was decreased to $39.5 million.
However, the bond was increased once more to $41 million at the July 22 meeting as council decided to include a $750,000 splash pad and $600,000 for improvements at Emerson Park.
Some estimated costs of improvements in the proposed bond include the following:
- Parks enhancements: $24,115,000
- Pirates Cove enhancements: $6,300,000
- Englewood Recreation Center: $7,705,000
- Permits and project manager: $2,907,000
To generate the $41 million, the city said “voters would need to approve a 4-mill property tax increase.”
Chirs Harguth, city communications direct, said the bond, if passed, would cost a typical homeowner $26.70 to $30.04 per $100,000 of a home’s value or the annual cost would be between $133.50 and $150.20, approximately $12 per month for a $500,000 home.
Proposed improvements at Pirates Cove include an inner-tube water slide that would replace the six lap lanes in the pool, a leisure pool with an open recreation area for water basketball, volleyball and a waterfall and more.
In addition to Pirates Cove, improvements might also be made to the Englewood Recreation Center, including roof improvements, a pickleball court, updated locker rooms, improved landscaping, a spa and a new pool deck.
Other parks and projects on the list for improvements include: Barde, Belleview, Centennial, Clarkson-Amherst, Cushing, Miller, Northwest Greenbelt, a new irrigation system and native plants.
For more information on the projects, visit the city’s at bit.ly/park-bond.