Tualatin City Council members unanimously agreed to present voters with a $25 million Parks Bond measure on the November ballot during an August 8 meeting.
If approved, the measure will inject money into trails, river access, athletic fields, and acquiring and protecting natural areas.
The measure is expected to cover new pedestrian trail connections, a new waterfront destination in the downtown area to access the Tualatin River, park upgrades, and a Lake of the Commons renovation to incorporate the newly approved Veterans Plaza design.
Parks and Recreation Director Ross Hoover presented council with a breakdown of target projects that include $4.5 million for trail connections that would fund a new trail at Nyberg Creek, $4 million for a new downtown river access, $7 million for athletic fields, $5 million for existing park upgrades, $3.5 million for natural areas acquisition and protection, and $1 million for playground equipment upgrades.
Projects were identified to align with City Council’s overarching goals and vision for the city and through public outreach campaigns to pinpoint community wants and priorities.
“These really guided our community as we dove into the parks and recreation system plan, master plan update, and guided our Tualatin Parks and Recreation Committee as the prioritized projects from that master plan, and then guided our stakeholder advisory
committee,” Hoover said.
If successful, the bond funding would be generated through a property tax increase of about $88 a year for a property assessed at $300,000.
Current Parks and Recreation funding levels limit the department to basic maintenance, leaving nothing for renovation and expansion.
