Local residents have formed a political action committee (PAC) to promote the Kirkland City Council-approved ballot measure for a metropolitan park district (MPD)to fund the Aquatic and Recreational Community Center (ARC).

The PAC, Yes on Prop 1, Build the ARC, will be holding an upcoming kickoff event from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Wilde Rover in downtown Kirkland. The PAC is pushing for the passage of Proposition 1, which if approved by the majority of voters this November would create an MPD called the Kirkland Aquatics and Recreation District. An MPD is a junior taxing district that would provide funding for the construction and maintenance of the ARC. Under the proposed ordinance, the MPD’s boundaries would be the city limits, and the council would act as the governing body.

Although Prop 1 and the ARC aren’t confined solely to the creation of an aquatics center, it’s what’s driving many of the measure’s supporters, such as Rob Martin, a spokesperson for the Yes on Prop 1 PAC. Like many aquatics enthusiasts, Martin first got involved in efforts for a new aquatics center when the Lake Washington School District announced that it would not be replacing the Juanita High School pool when they eventually rebuild the school.

The lack of local pools, Martin said, could end many aquatics programs on the Eastside, along with high school swimming. A long time Northwest swimmer, Martin is currently a Lake Washington Masters swimmer, and while attending the University of Washington swam and played water polo.

“I come at it from an aquatics angle,” he said. “I think it (the city) is growing immensely and there have been no aquatics facilities.”

Other members of the PAC include former Olympian and 1976 bronze-medalist Rick Colella. As Yes on Prop 1 members see it, Prop 1 is the solution to not just preserving swimming programs on the Eastside but providing other public recreational facilities that are currently lacking in Kirkland despite the city’s growing population, according to Martin. Among the other amenities the ARC would include a 250-person community hall, classrooms, studios, a single-court gym, fitness room and other community spaces.

“The facility on a whole is about creating a healthy vibrant community that has access to the type of programming and fitness activities that this facility would provide,” Martin said. “It would also be a public facility, as opposed to a private health club.”

One of the criticisms for the ballot measure is the costs, as the MPD sets a fixed tax rate that all property owners pay per $1,000 in assessed valuation (AV), with a maximum rate of 75 cents per $1,000 AV. The initial levy rate for the ARC is estimated to be 25 cents per $1,000 AV. Martin said they point out that the City Council has written into the park district plan language that establishes a citizen advisory committee.

“What this means is that voting for Prop 1, does not give the Park District a blank check,” he wrote in an email. “Also, Kirkland residents will see that the Park District keeps these revenues right here in the community for our benefit. However, what we hope everyone will see is that building the ARC creates the type of facility that many in the city have dreamed of for decades. We’ve found a way to make it happen that includes accountability, citizen oversight and prudent financing.”

Prior to approving the ordinance, the council added language that states the board will not increase the levy rate in any one year for purposes other than financing the ARC by more than five cents per $1,000 AV without first placing an advisory ballot measure to the vote. They also added language that said park district revenues will not be used to supplant funds or service levels previously funded by the city’s general fund or special levy fund. Currently, the city is looking at possibly purchasing property from Christ Church in the Totem Lake neighborhood across from the Kirkland Justice Center.

“We’re already thrilled that it’s going to be on the ballot,” he said. “There has always been the threat of losing facilities or access to pools, and if we could do this it would be tremendous.”

To learn more about the PAC, go to www.buildthearc.org.