After some of my neighbors read the article in the Sept. 11 Reporter on the Kirkland Aquatics, Recreation and Community (ARC) Center (“Kirkland residents start PAC for ARC ballot measure”), they asked me why Kirkland is proposing to create a Metropolitan Park District (MPD), what it is, and why aren’t we voting on a bond issue. I wanted to share my response with other Kirkland neighbors.

Under Washington State law, communities can create “metropolitan park districts for the management, control, improvement, maintenance, and acquisition of parks, boulevards, and recreational facilities.” Kirkland’s Proposition 1 creates an MPD to fund construction and maintenance of the proposed Kirkland ARC at the lowest cost to taxpayers while providing sustainable, dependable revenue to ensure the ARC remains a cherished resource for many years.

Voting for Proposition 1 and the MPD provides the flexibility Kirkland needs to secure land and finalize plans for the ARC. The MPD approach provides funds for construction and ongoing maintenance whereas a bond would provide funds for construction only. With a bond measure, we could end up just where we are today with our county and city pools built under the Forward Thrust bonds in the 1970s – closed or in jeopardy of closing because there aren’t funds to modernize or maintain these facilities. Those existing pools that are not in jeopardy of closing are being supported by an MPD in their community.

To raise the estimated $4.5 million per year to fund the costs associated with building the ARC, the MPD levy rate is estimated to be about 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value based on current assessments, or about $10 per month for a homeowner whose house is assessed at $500,000 – about the cost of a movie. And, once the construction costs are paid for, the levy rate can be reduced to cover only ongoing maintenance of the facility. This dependable revenue source for the ARC means that the facility can be maintained to a high standard and serve Kirkland residents for many, many years.

The MPD funding approach was established in its current form by state law in 2004. Many communities across Washington have established MPDs to fund their parks and recreation facilities. The MPD is working well in these communities and it will work well for Kirkland. Please vote for Prop. 1 to build the Kirkland ARC that will serve our entire community for generations.

Rick Colella, Kirkland