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Beacon
Property Proposed Community Park Development
Montesano Community Park Development (Beacon
Park Property): The Master
Plan of the Park is now complete!
Park amenities include three lighted baseball & softball fields,
three lighted soccer fields, concession/restroom building, full sized outdoor
basketball court, horseshoe pits, covered picnic shelter, picnic and barbecue
areas, flat open green space, paved walking/biking/rollerblading pathways, wood
plank wetland interpretive trail, and more.
This park design truly has something for everyone.
The total estimated development cost is
approximately $2,100,000. The City
has obtained grants from the E.K and Lillian F. Bishop Foundation in the amount
of $750,000 and the Gleason-Skok Foundation in the amount of $25,000.
The City has also been approved to receive an
ADDITIONAL $300,000 grant from the Washington State Interagency Committee (IAC).
This grant will be given to the City IF the City's registered voters approve a
bond levy for $750,000 AND the state legislature funds at least $2 million in
park improvement work statewide for the next biennium. (In the past two
biennia, the legislature has given about $3 million to state park improvements,
so it is very likely the $2 million minimum will be met again, thus paving the
way for the City to receive this grant if the bond levy is approved.)
This would leave approximately $1,025,000 in funding left to
raise, or less than one-half of the total park development cost. To finance the
majority of the initial development phases, the City is proposing a bond levy to the
people to secure $750,000 of these remaining $1,025,000 costs.
After the bond levy approval and the grants contingent upon this approval,
approximately $275,000 would remain to be raised through additional
grant programs and donations to complete future phases of the park.
On Tuesday, September 17, 2002, registered
voters residing within the Montesano City Limits will vote at the polls on “Proposition #1”. Approval of
this proposition would allow the City to issue general obligation bonds in the
amount of $750,000 and use this funding to begin development of the Montesano Community Park.
The impact to the tax payers in Montesano would be $0.56 per $1,000 of
assessed value on their homes. The
owner of a home valued at $100,000 would pay a total of $56 per year, or about
$4.70 per month, over a ten year period.
The City feels timing for such a levy is right.
First, the
fire truck levy will end before the new park levy would begin.
As the fire truck levy amount is approximately double the amount of the
park levy, the net impact to the tax payer will be a DECREASE of approximately
$50 per year.
Secondly, by passing this levy, the City will
receive the $1,075,000 of grants approved for the park - more than half of the
total development cost. The City is required to match these funds by
February of 2003, so the September 17 vote is the last opportunity for the City
to receive this substantial grant funding.
Absentee votes must be postmarked by September
17. The polls will be open until 8 PM that night. Please let your
opinion be heard by voting on Proposition #1 on Tuesday, September 17.
For the City Council's comments on approving the bond issue, please
refer to the Article
from The Vidette, March 28, 2002: "Voters to have their say on
Beacon Park."
This page last updated on
03/22/2008
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