The unofficial results showed that the bond passed with 2,156 votes in favor and 1,168 against, which is about 64.86 percent for and 35.14 percent against, according to figures supplied by Bell County election officials.
“We are all going to get to enjoy some first-class facilities and amenities and I just want to congratulate the citizens of Temple and the people who worked so hard to get the bond issue passed,” Allen said.
Temple Mayor Bill Jones III said the hard work by supporters in getting the bond issue passed would result in improved park facilities for all people in the city.
“Needless to say we were elated with the results,” Jones said. “It’s a win for every citizen of Temple.”
He said officials hope to get started “very shortly” to get the projects planned and executed.
“They are all good projects with something for all areas of the city and all ages,” he said.
Ken Cicora, Parks and Leisure Services director, said some projects in the bond package that do not require architectural planning could begin within a few months with in-house crews. Other projects, such as the swimming pools, could take a year and a half to complete.
“I was very pleased,” Cicora said. “Everyone was very supportive and responsive during presentations to the community. In that way, I was not surprised.”
Unlike this year’s effort, a parks bond election in 2002 failed, but by a relatively small number of votes.
During that election, voters approved more than $16 million in bonds for fire and police department upgrades, but voted down a third proposition of $3.6 million in park improvements by 105 votes.
More than 2,700 people voted in that election with the issue failing 1,306 to 1,411.
Cicora said the difference from the last parks bond attempt had to do with the selection of projects and communication with the community through supporters of the bond.
“The projects were more focussed toward what the community said it wanted in our surveys and the master plan,” he said. “The first time (2002 bond election) we had … projects that were probably trying to address needs in a lot of parks and it was hard to focus on things that were important.”
He said that with fewer projects on the ballot this year, voters were able to focus on the issues being presented to them.
He also credited Citizens for Parks, a PAC that worked to get the bond passed, with communicating with residents about the bond proposal.
Zoe Rascoe, a member of the PAC, said members of the organization are “thrilled with the outcome.”
“Our thought from the beginning was that it was a very good bond package with lots of great packages all over the city,” she said. “If we got the message out to the citizens that the city put together the projects that they asked for, we thought it would sell itself.”
According to figures from the city, a resident with a house valued at $100,000, would pay about $10 more in annual taxes with passage of the bond issue.
The bond will fund a family aquatics center which would replace the aging Temple Lions Park pool and also put a heated, indoor pool on the grounds of Sammons Community Center, among other projects.
The family aquatics center is estimated to cost $4.1 million. Funding for the Sammons facility includes a covered pool and improvements to Sammons Golf Links with estimated price tag of $2,250,000.
The other proposed projects are $1,625,000 for Summit Recreation Center expansion, including pool family changing rooms; $600,000 for Miller Park playground and hike and bike trail; $475,000 for a West Temple spray park; $400,000 for Lions Park soccer practice fields; and $300,000 for Ferguson Park picnic area and playground improvements.
rstinson@temple-telegram.com
