In April 2015, Durango voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure to extend a half-cent sales tax for an additional 20 years to support dedicated parks and recreation funding.
The half-cent tax was originally approved in 1999 to fund the Durango Community Recreation Center and expand the Animas River Trail, and would have expired in 2019. Thanks to 69 percent of voters supporting the extension, the dedicated funding will remain in effect through 2039. An estimated one-third of this tax revenue will be used to maintain current facilities, trails and parks, with the remaining two-thirds available to fund a broader base of projects, including improvements to recreation facilities, parks, trails, the urban forest (comprising 9,000 trees in local parks and along roads the city maintains) and pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
A second dedicated funding source for parks and recreation purposes is the 2005 sales tax for open space preservation and stewardship and the development and maintenance of parks and trails. This tax will remain in effect through 2026. The total estimated revenue from these two dedicated funding sources is approximately $125 million. The current list of future capital improvement projects includes expenditures estimated at $220 million.
To assure accountability, the expenditures from this tax fund are subject to review and recommendation in a public process; this responsibility falls to the City Council-appointed Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. The board strives to maintain an open, transparent and inclusive process for the review and evaluation of proposed capital improvement projects for recreation. The advisory board has developed procedures to ensure that the city seeks input from residents and most equitably represents the diverse populations and perspectives of our community.
The Advisory Board and city staff are in the annual process of reviewing our strategic plan. This document is used to set priorities amongst recreational projects and to make yearly funding recommendations consistent with the adopted master plans. We invite the public to follow and be involved in our strategic plan process.
In February, city staff updated the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on the status of the initial list of capital improvement projects. Following a study session, Advisory Board members independently evaluated and prioritized each project, based on a series of agreed-upon criteria. These projects will form the basis of the annual Parks and Recreation Department Strategic Plan.
In March, the community is invited to attend and comment directly to the Advisory Board on the strategic plan draft and the priority projects to be considered for funding. The Advisory Board will further review and update the plan based on community input and the board’s priorities.
In April, the Advisory Board will formally adopt a 2016-2020 Parks and Recreation Department Strategic Plan. Once adopted, city staff will prepare the 2017 Capital Improvement Project budget for submittal to the city manager in May. The final step for the Advisory Board will be to review the proposed 2017 Capital Improvement Project budget and to make recommendations directly to City Council in summer/fall 2016.
The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is committed to fulfilling its role of fairly representing the community it serves. Working closely with the public and city staff, the Advisory Board will work hard to properly address the recreational desires of the whole community. We will lay out a strategic plan that will ultimately expand and link our trails, sidewalks and bike lanes; improve and maintain our recreation facilities; and create and enhance parks, playgrounds, playing fields and river access. It also looks to support future evolving community needs as they develop and balance those needs with the current project priorities.
Recommendations from the board will be made directly to elected City Council officials who will make all final decisions after public input. The City Council will approve all expenditures of the tax funds in the annual budget.
This process will evolve and develop over time as the Advisory Board deems appropriate in its quest to develop fair, open and transparent processes. Community members’ participation, input and feedback is a critical component in balancing public support and the needs of our community, and we encourage interested community members to attend our March 9 Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting and share their feedback directly to the board. This meeting will be held at 5 p.m. at the Durango Public Library.
The Durango Parks and Recreation Advisory Board is Sandy Burke, Frank Viehmann, Melissa Youssef, Peter Schertz, Richard Speegle, Seth Furtney, Richard Hoehlein, Michayla Anderson and Anthony Savastano.
