When residents head to the polls in October, they'll not only narrow the field of City Council candidates but also decide the fate of a proposed park.
The primary election ballot on Oct. 8 will include a question asking residents whether they're willing to have property taxes hiked to pay for construction of the Lakeside Park.Some council members believe residents' money couldn't be spent more wisely than by expanding recreational opportunities for children and adults; at least two council members think the proposed tax increase would burden residents.
"There are always a million places to put the dollars," said Mayor Joyce Johnson. "Let the community decide."
The Lakeside Park would spread over 55.54 acres the city purchased three years ago to the west of Geneva Road and north of Holdaway Road (400 South). The park would include six soccer fields, five softball diamonds, four tennis courts, a regulation rugby-football field, a basketball court, a sand volleyball court, a mile-long jogging path, horseshoe pits, two sand play areas, rest rooms, two pavilions and two parking lots.
Recreation director Jerry Ortiz plans to shift adult softball leagues to the new park if approved, freeing time at other parks for youth leagues.
The proposed park's price tag: $2 million.
Orem would fund the park through general obligation bonds, which would be repaid over 11 years via the property-tax increase. The owner of a home valued at $80,000 would pay $12.01 more in taxes a year; a commercial property valued at $300,000 would pay an additional $60.07.
If built, the park would be ready for play in about two years.
"I feel that the impacts are reasonable for homeowners," Ortiz said.
Orem still has six years to go to pay off bonds used to build the city's recreation center. Ortiz does not think the city should put off building the new park until those bonds are paid because of the demand for playing fields.
"In the adult area we turn away 25 to 30 teams (each year) because we're maxed out on facilities," he said. "The youth programs also continue to grow fairly significantly."
Orem now has 53 men's and women's softball teams, involving 636 people.
"If we were able to pick up the 30 or so teams we drop we would come close to doubling our program," Ortiz said.
Youth programs in softball, baseball and soccer currently involve 6,400 participants. Factor in spectators and parents, and the number touched by city recreation programs climbs to 14,000 people.
"Orem to me seems to be a very vibrant, energetic, youth-oriented community," Ortiz said. "It seems to me that is one of the elements that makes it very dynamic and maybe sets it apart from some of the other communities.
"I would venture to say that roughly 50 percent plus of people in Orem are active in some sort of fitness or wellness endeavor. That speaks well for justifying this kind of facility."
The Recreation Department will generate some revenue from program fees to help cover costs of the park. But Ortiz said the benefits of the facility can't be measured solely in dollars, such as the physical fitness of residents and opportunities for them to reduce stress and engage in leisure activities.