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Park votes: Where do you stand on two referendums?
Op-Ed · October 16, 2014


The West Branch Times posted on Twitter, Facebook and WestBranchTimes.com an unscientific survey regarding the Nov. 4 ballot initiatives regarding City of West Branch park improvements.


Here is how 58 people answered the survey, plus a selection of their comments. Some numbers may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding.



The City of West Branch will place two referendums on the Nov. 4 ballot, both about improving current city parks and creating a new park in Pedersen Valley.The first referendum, if approved, creates a 1-percent Local Option Sales Tax to generate money for park improvements. It runs for 10 years and is expected to bring in about $1.8 million in that time. It needs a simple majority (50 percent plus one vote) to pass. How do you plan to vote?

56.9 percent Yes

31.0 percent No

12.07 percent Don’t know

• The parks need to be improved to bring more people to town.

• I would be much more likely to vote yes if I could see that the parks that we have now were maintained better. The culverts and the creek cleanings are a mess. There is overgrowth in the culverts which bother the storm flow, causing more standing water and the banks of the creek on Lions Field are overgrown and a mess, even though last year they were maintained. If the city cannot cover the parks they have, why would we want more?

• $1.8 million is not nearly enough.



The second referendum would allow the city to borrow up to $4 million by issuing bonds. The money would go toward things like baseball fields, volleyball courts, lighting improvements, playground equipment, bleachers, a concession stand, restrooms, trails, landscaping, parking lots, excavation and public infrastructure improvements. It would need support of 60 percent of the voters to pass. How do you plan to vote?

50 percent Yes

41.4 percent No

8.6 percent Don’t know

• I think there needs to be a plan that has a pool, etc., like the towns in the area and not something later. Build it now rather then later.

• Right now we have to go out of town to play, maybe by building things like this, “they will come” to us.

• There again, who is going to maintain and staff these improvements?

• The last thing West Branch needs is more baseball fields. West Branch needs to get with the program and make it a a more kid-friendly place. Look at North Liberty Rec. Center, West Branch should do something along that line. No more baseball or softball fields, there are plenty of them out by the high school.



What are your primary reasons for your position on the upcoming park votes?

• We had some of the items before and they did not get supported or used. I don't think that will change. This city does not support its local businesses.

• Improve the city and make it more attractive for families and give kids more things to do.

• Future of the city

• Two parks already rarely used and there are plenty of ball diamonds. (A) golf course maybe because it brings in money to the economy.

• Don't necessarily have faith in the parks department utilizing the money correctly

• Quality of life.

• Meeting basic human needs to be a priority first.

• Love to see improvement. Having run downs buildings and/or parks is a bad sign of the future.

• I already pay $4,200 per year in property taxes in a town of 2,200 people. I do not think this town can afford to borrow that money and that they will expect to pay it back by increasing my taxes.

• I have small kids, I’d like to see the facilities in West Branch improved for their future.

• Too much tax debt load with the school bond on there now. Also lack of leadership at the department and city council level.

• You people are nuts for spending that kind of money. West Branch is too small of town for all of that. You people move into town and want to change it, MOVE back to where ever you came from. And leave our town the way it was!

• Long overdue, but DO want to see more than just baseball fields.

• Maintaining new parks; the existing ones are not getting the attention they need. I feel the city is trying to go “too big” on the new designs and want everything right now rather than starting on a basic premise and being able to build on it. We do need to look to the future and go forward but the plans that are being made want everything right now.

• The need for recreational activities in West Branch.

• It would draw more residents to live in West Branch.

• Putting the new rec center in wrong neighborhood. Will ruin the peace for the residents in the nursing home and surrounding homes with families!

• The plans neglect major portions of the population of the city and are far from the vast number of citizens.

• I question building in what seems to be flood plain.

• The taxpayers are not city's pot of gold

• Let the city increase the value of property and start to generate more income from it. Once we start making money off of the new facilities then let's address the other obvious issues with streets and city utilities and use some of the money from the parks.

• There is nothing for kids to do in this town, their summers are very long and boring for them.

• Local Option Sales Tax would be a shared responsibility with those that purchase things locally including visitors.

• There were better properties out there. BAD land and location. Should not have jumped the gun. Other property owners around West Branch would have gladly sold the city property for the price they gave for a flood plain.

• Benefit the community.

• The town need to have more to offer our young kids!

• It’s time to move forward and invest in new infrastructure, ball fields and especially a new rec center. Based on our current Park & Rec participation numbers, this investment is justified and would be a well-used asset for our community.

• We need to fix our infrastructure first. And we need something for our seniors. We gave away the Cookson home because we “couldn’t afford” the $1,300 monthly fee to maintain the elevator, and now we’re talking of building a $12,000,000 rec center, ball diamonds, etc. there’s something wrong with that thinking.