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Survey: 82% will pay more for parks
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · August 15, 2024
A park survey found that 82 percent of West Branch residents would pay an extra $360 per year in taxes — for something they like.
The catch: Not everyone agrees on what they want.
While reviewing a 2024 West Branch Parks and Recreation Master Plan, City Administrator Adam Kofoed told the City Council that residents want to continually make small improvements to the parks, but also like “big goal” ideas.
“West Branch’s public is big-project heavy,” he said, “which is fine. It’s good to have goals. Something that we need to keep in mind is balancing our revenue with those things.”
East Central Intergovernmental Association conducted the survey and those ideal projects ranged from trails to a community center to a pool.
“There’s a little more appetite than I think we would have thought,” Kofoed said. “Everybody’s always for something, but until there’s a dollar amount for it … it changes. It would not go 82 percent because people have different opinions on what the main project should be.”
Councilmember Jerry Sexton expressed skepticism that the survey results would hold true with more inflation.
“There’s been a lot happening in the community since then,” he said. “Our utility bills have gone up considerably. Thirty dollars have probably been eaten up by our utility bills.”
Still, he liked the interest captured by the survey. The city also wanted to build a new library, Sexton noted, and voters found both too expensive.
In general, 57 percent still support a recreation/community center, though previous votes on such measures did not pass. Some 25 percent of residents want an outdoor aquatics center. (Note: “aquatics” refers to people-centered activities; “aquatic” refers to fish and sea life.)
Kofoed said developing the Master Plan took two to three years due to turnover in the director’s position and the park board.
He said Parks Director Erin Laughlin and the parks board will review the document to select projects.
Kofoed said adding a pickleball court and ongoing maintenance is a significant project. The city built pickleball courts at Cubby Park and, just this past summer, the West Branch Lions Club transformed a basketball court into a pickleball court at Beranek Park.
Mayor Roger Laughlin said he would like to build a “shade structure” near the concession stand at Cubby Park. He said Director Laughlin received an estimate for about $30,000 to build two.
Councilmember Jodee Stoolman took a moment to thank Eagle Scouts and the West Branch Lions Club “who have done so much for our parks.”
“And they still are helping,” Sexton added. “They’ve spent some money for us.”
Some other points raised by the Master Plan:
• Other “Top Priority Projects” could include park amenities, programming for all demographics, a bike repair and air station, and clearing trails in the winter.
• “Opportunity Projects” may include a recreation center with a pool or splash pad, additional trails, a pedestrian bridge to connect Cubby Park and Gilbert Street, and an amphitheater. The report noted that an example of an opportunity project would be when a road needs to be improved the city could get a trail built, too.
• “The projects in the opportunity group … will help move the community closer to its long-term goals, but are not considered immediate needs,” it read, and may take 10 to 20 years to implement.
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