The Summit County Council is weighing whether to put a $150 million bond question on the November ballot for the Snyderville Basin Special Recreation District.
Some taxpayers are in favor of putting it to a vote, but as the Aug. 20 deadline for that decision nears, councilmembers and recreation district leaders both say they’re also hearing concerns.
The bonds would pay for two new fieldhouses and be paid back with property taxes.
Once the district finalized the cost, Basin Rec Board Chair Ryan Bruce said he and the rest of the board expected public opinion to shift.
Orlie Bush was one of the two people who spoke at a Wednesday public hearing on the bond question. Both thought the amount was too high.
“Like many people, I feel like I'm being taxed out of my home. My present tax bill to Basin Rec, the Basin Rec bonds A and B, is over $720, which is more than 10% of my total tax bill,” Bush, a 30-year Basin resident, said. “If this goes in, it's going to add another $500, plus my $600 membership at Basin Rec. Is it the community's responsibility to provide this level of health club?”
To respond to those concerns, Bruce said Basin Rec is taking a step back and will likely propose a smaller bond.
“I and our committee are open to a lower amount, but that would decrease facilities to one,” he told the county council Aug. 6.
Of the two possible fieldhouses, one in Jeremy Ranch would have rock climbing, and the other in Silver Creek Village would have a larger pool. Both would include other sports and fitness facilities like the Kimball Junction fieldhouse does.
District Director Robert Parrish said Basin Rec’s repeated polling shows residents are split over taking on so much debt. Surveys also indicate that an aquatics facility is a bigger priority than indoor climbing.
“A lot of people… even if they were to say, ‘I'd prefer you to have two facilities,’ but if we were to do one, Silver Creek Village is the one we should go with first,” Parrish said.
The county council agreed to let Basin Rec return with a downsized proposal later this month.
Councilmember Chris Robinson said it would be risky to put a large bond up for a vote and have it fail.
“If it's way out there, and we serve something up that's dead on arrival, then people question our judgment,” Robinson said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Aug. 7.
Councilmember Roger Armstrong said Parrish’s data-driven approach has made for “one of the best processes” Armstrong has seen in his 13 years on council.
“People throw around terms like ‘transparency’ and ‘you're not being transparent,’” Armstrong said. “You've been remarkably thorough with this, and your process is — being part of the team that interviewed you a while back — it's kind of what set you aside among the candidates.”
Parrish and the Basin Rec board have a couple of weeks to revise their plans.
State elections officials must know whether to put a bond on Snyderville Basin ballots 75 days before the Nov. 3 election.
Summit County and Basin Rec are financial supporters of KPCW.
