Election ballots officially are in the mail for the Nov. 2 election and the fate of a proposed community recreation center hinges on those votes.
Electors must reside in the district boundaries or own property in the district boundaries and be registered to vote in Colorado.
The Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District on Monday presented one of several community informational meetings giving residents a chance to hear the information, ask questions and express thoughts.
Executive Director Kyle Horne laid out the bond and mill levy proposals.
Question 6A is a mill levy question that will raise the district’s current mill levy of 3.509 to 7.009 to help fund the operations and maintenance of the proposed recreation center, as well as ongoing recreation district operations and building reserves for the recreation center. If approved, it will not sunset but it only would increase by a vote of the people.
Question 6B is a $30 million bond measure that will fund the construction and equipping of the proposed recreation center. It would go toward the construction cost alone, nothing else, and it will sunset once the bonds are paid off in 25-30 years.
A previous scientific survey indicated that voters did not want sales tax raised in order to support the 61,000 square foot center, but rather property taxes. The local sales tax rate is 8.4%, which is tied for 46th in the state.
“We are not the highest, but we certainly aren’t the lowest,” Horne said. “We are in the top third of sales tax in the Stae of Colorado.”
In Colorado, the residential assessment rate is 7.15% of market value and the commercial assessment rate is 29%.
If approved, property owners will see a combined $69.47 increase per year per $100,000 of a home’s assessed value. That’s about $5.80 per month. Commercial property owners will see an increase of about $23 per month per $100,000 value.
While businesses would be more financially impacted, the recreation center could bring in more families and more growth to the area, meaning more revenue and more workforce, Horne said.
Cañon City Economic Development Manager Rick Harrmann agrees that a recreation center is an economic development driver. He said looking at the population growth during the last several years, the most increase is in the fixed income population, putting a financial strain on the community to take care of its own infrastructure. In response, taxes are raised to pay for streets and infrastructure.
The income-generating population needs to expand, he said.
“Now, every organization in this community needs employees,” he said. “…The only way that we can really balance out our economy is to bring in people who can generate revenue, bring in jobs so that they can work here so they can enjoy downtown and inject money into our downtown.”
Horne talked about attracting and retaining business and said a recreation center is a key component for professionals and young families when trying to strengthening the local community.
“One of the missing components according to site selectors – who don’t live here, who don’t have a dog in the fight, who are simply going out to point out the holes in the community — they have found that this is one of the big holes, not having a recreation center,” he said. “Businesses don’t come here because of it. … Twenty years ago, it was a nice amenity to have, now it’s almost a requirement for any community.”
The next community presentation will be at 7 p.m. Monday in the Canon City High School auditorium, located at 1313 College Ave.
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October 13, 2021 at 07:22AM
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Cañon City Area Recreation and Park District director: Proposed center could bring in more families, growth to area - Canon City Daily Record
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