If built, the proposed Kirkland Aquatics, Recreation and Community (ARC) Center will meet critical community needs and become a highly valued city asset. I strongly urge Kirkland residents to support this November’s Prop 1 ballot issue, which will establish a Metropolitan Park District (MPD) as a funding mechanism for this public facility.

The arguments against the ARC and/or the MPD don’t hold water. Some people, even when they acknowledge the obvious need for an indoor, year-round city pool, decry the plan to build the multi-use ARC. As envisioned, the ARC will include not just lap and recreational pools, but also a single-court gym, a fitness room, wood-floor studios, community spaces and other amenities. A clear example, some opponents claim, of overreach by the City Council and the Parks Department.

The reality: the city did its research and learned that – unlike a pool-only design – such a multi-use facility will generate enough revenue to cover its ongoing operational costs. It goes without saying that the ARC will also cater to a much broader segment of Kirkland residents, from young to old, rather than to only the large swimming and lesson community.

On another front, many opponents object to the establishment of the MPD funding mechanism. Some people have a predictable “anti-any-tax” response, and others cite specific concerns about the MPD model. The latter group worries that the MPD gives the City Council too much leeway to raise property taxes, with too little accountability and too few constraints.

The reality: Kirkland’s city councilors have shown that they are sincere public servants closely attuned and responsive to the needs and interests of their constituents. In proposing the ARC and the MPD funding mechanism – after MANY public meetings on these issues – the City Council is doing what it’s supposed to do. It is responding to a pressing community need in a fiscally responsible way, using a sustainable MPD funding model that has proven successful in many other Washington communities. Any city councilor who wants to be reelected isn’t going to cavalierly propose tax increases without good reason and broad community support.

This November, Kirkland residents have the opportunity to create a community resource that will help our lakefront city teach thousands to swim, support year-round fitness and health activities, and become a gathering place for many civic meetings and events. The MPD model is the best and only realistic way to get the ARC built. Any MPD-based increase in property taxes – projected to be only $10/month or less for the average Kirkland homeowner – will be small compared to the city-wide appreciation in property values that will result from the creation of this signature community asset.

Please join me in supporting Prop 1, and the ARC, on this November’s ballot.

Dwight Davis, Kirkland