Talk Starting Of Another Bond Vote For Recreation Facilities
Is another recreation bond vote in store for Jackson County voters?
“It’s been discussed,” notes county Recreation Director Ricky Sanders.”
It has been discussed among the three county recreation directors, Sanders said, but no figures have been thrown out and no elected officials have been involved.
Jackson County voters rejected a $15 million bond issue Feb. 5, that, had it passed, would have built a host of amenities for the county — but none for Jefferson and Commerce. Ironically, voters in those two municipalities supported the initiative, while those in the county rejected it.
“We got so many calls after it failed, wanting to know if we were going to try to do it again,” Sanders said.
The bond would have provided more fields for county youths, something Sanders says Jackson County must address “sooner or later.”
“We started having practices on Wednesday nights because we don’t have enough fields (to schedule around Wednesday nights)” Sanders commented.
That led to complaints, and allegations that Sanders moved practices to a night heretofore closed to practices, because of the bond vote failure.
“I gave them my schedule and told them ‘You show me how we can practice twice a week without practicing on Wednesdays or Sundays,’” he said.
Sanders believes that the referendum on Sunday sales of alcohol that was on the same ballot doomed the recreation vote.
The recreation vote failed 6,984-5,519; Sunday sales were turned down by a much more slim margin, 6,311-6,056.
“Nobody I talked to had any problem with any of the recreation projects,” Sanders said, adding that many voters were upset about the alcohol issues and others about local taxes.
The matter came up at the Commerce City Council’s retreat a week ago at Smithgall Woods, when City Manager Clarence Bryant suggested that a future recreation bond vote might include money for Commerce and Jefferson. Bryant speculated that the “county had learned its lesson” about not giving Commerce and Jefferson voters incentive to support a county recreation bond.
The earliest the county could have a recreation bond vote would be next February.
