Tim Ryan, tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
City officials had been expected Wednesday to vote on additional borrowing for park improvements that voters overwhelmingly supported in an advisory referendum last week, but the agenda item was put off until next month so financing details could be worked out.
The April 4 referendum question passed by a margin of 767-440 and received more than 60 percent approval in each of the city’s aldermanic districts.
The non-binding advisory referendum asked voters whether the city should approve $1.85 million in additional borrowing.
City Administrator Brian Knapp said after the meeting Wednesday that the council vote was delayed to provide time to work out a couple of technical financing issues.
For one thing, the borrowing will put the city above a self-imposed limit of keeping its debt to less than 80 percent of what the state says can be borrowed compared to a municipality’s equalized value.
Knapp said that policy would be revisited and a resolution could be brought forward recommending that the figure be pushed to 90 percent.
Also, the city typically takes out 10-year notes when it borrows but this time would use a 20-year bond, which is more complicated.
“We want to make sure all our ducks are in a row,” Knapp said.
The question is expected to be back before the council in May.
If subsequently approved by the council, the plan would add 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to the tax bill, or $25 per $100,000 home.
At Franklin Park, the improvements would include an amphitheater for music, movies and community events; public restrooms, and pavilion space available for public rental; a water fountain with benches and trees for visual interest; parking, electrical, landscaping and infrastructure to accommodate community events; walkways, picnic tables and benches; and space for a future playground.
At Smalley Park, plans call for a park pavilion with restroom facilities and a rentable picnic shelter; a canoe and kayak launch; boat landings and boat slips; improved parking, lighting and security; walking trails that connect all of the major park features; trees and other native plantings, including native plantings along the waterway to deter geese; and continued revitalization of the beach and the improvement of beach amenities.
The plans also call for replacement of the wading pool at Memorial Park with a splash pad.