SALT LAKE CITY — Voters in Utah's capital city will decide whether to fund an $85 million bond to build new parks and secure open spaces.
"This bond is the single largest investment we would be making in parks, trails and open space in a generation," Mayor Erin Mendenhall said in a recent interview with FOX 13 News.
Money from the bond would be used to turn the old Raging Waters site in the Glendale neighborhood into a regional park for Salt Lake City's west side. It would be on the scale of Liberty and Sugar House parks.
"The first time in over 60 years we would be adding a regional park," the mayor said.
There would be smaller parks created in each of the city council districts, the completion of the Folsom Trail and tree plantings along the Jordan River. There would also be more recreational opportunities created along the river, the mayor said.
For the average home valued at $576,000, it would equate to $53.80 more a year on a property tax.
"It equates to just less than $5 a month," Mayor Mendenhall said.
No one submitted an argument against the bond for the city's voter information pamphlet. Parks and recreation bonds are typically very popular in Utah communities, with taxpayers repeatedly voting in favor of them. The Utah Taxpayers Association acknowledged the popularity, but said it had concerns about the overall tax burden to residents.
"It sounds great, right? Parks, everybody likes parks. Let's pay a nominal amount on their tax bill. But our point is it’s a small amount added to what’s already a very big tax bill relative to everyone else in the state," he said.
"For Salt Lake City, we haven’t done one since 2014 and it was needed to accommodate our growing population in the city," Mayor Mendenhall said of the bond.
The bond has support of some Glendale residents like Aaron Cardenas-Paredas, who lives near the new park site.
"The west side has been a pocket in the sense that we get overlooked sometimes and people sometimes don’t know we’re on the map," he told FOX 13 News on Tuesday, adding: "We need a place to have recreation, sports. There’s always tennis going on but i’m pretty sure we can do more here."
