Council approves ballot question for recreational bond

McCOOK, Neb. — The McCook City Council approved by 4 to 1 a ballot question to increase the 1.5% city sales tax to 2%, the additional .5% going toward a recreational bond, with Mayor Mike Gonzales voting against it.

According to the ballot, revenue collected from the .5% increase will be used to pay the costs to construct, acquire, improve, furnish and equip public infrastructure projects which will include swimming pool and ballpark facilities. The .5% would continue for 10 years or until any bonds issued with the additional revenues are paid off. Based on costs associated with the two projects, it’s anticipated that $12 million worth of bonds will be needed for a recreational bond, with full payback at 20 years. A new pool design the council approved, at the current location of the city pool, is estimated at $6 million and a new ballpark, $15 million. In a discussion at the Aug. 1 City Council meeting, two-thirds of the costs for the new ballpark will be paid through privately pledged donations from local entities, now standing at $6.5 million, plus additional fundraising. If voters approve the ballot measure, property will be donated west of town for a new ballpark. One-third of the costs were estimated to be paid with proceeds from the .5% city sales tax revenue.

Before voting, Mayor Gonzales said there were too many unanswered questions, such as maintenance and operational costs of a new ballpark, the need for a new ballpark and what the plans would be for the current ballpark if a new one was constructed. “I really don’t want to see the pool project jeopardized, we’ve worked too long on that,” he said. “And this is coming from someone who loves softball.”

He said the city has been talking about a new pool for a long time and felt a new ballpark project was brought to the council too abruptly.

Councilman Jerry Calvin said he’s been asked by constituents why the ballot is just one question instead of two, with the ballot separated out for two projects, one for the pool and one for a ballpark. City Manager Nate Schneider said two questions would make the ballot very cumbersome and complicated in splitting up the .5%, with “a lot of caveats and ‘but fors’.” Schneider added that two questions could pit the two projects against each other “and the last thing we want to do is pit citizen against citizen.”

Councilman Gene Weedin said the council already made a decision on the pool, by approving a pool design, so the first priority is a pool. After paying for that, money left over in a recreational fund could be used one of two ways, he said: toward a new ballpark, or if enough money isn’t fundraised/pledged for that, then for improvements at the current ballpark. He added that the council hasn’t yet approved a new ballpark.

Kyle Potthoff, City of McCook Public Works Director, said it’s rare for people to come to the city and offer to donate money. About 135 acres has been proposed to be donated to the city for a new ballpark, with 60-70 acres used for a ballpark. The rest of the property gives the city options for future development, he said, with the city currently landlocked for large projects. He added that the current ballpark is on property the city leases from the county and the county would take over maintenance of the property if a new ballpark is built.

Councilman Jared Muehlenkamp said the council is working against time in getting a ballot question out and if it passes, expects a lot of questions to get answered. The main point is that “we’re investing in our community,” he said, but if the ballot doesn’t pass, the city will have to wait another two years to bring something forward. “I don’t want two projects killed,” he said.

A member of the public spoke up and said that sometimes being too cautious can be detrimental. Jamie Mockry told the council he’s worked concessions at the current ballpark for at least 15 years and that it’s in dire need of repair. The city and its citizens need to be progressive, but he felt sometimes “we’re so hesitant, we’ll never take a step forward.”

Lloyd and Elizabeth Benjamin, who attended Monday’s meeting, offered at the Aug. 1 council meeting to donate property for a new ballpark, contingent on the ballot measure passing. Committed pledges for a new ballpark are already at $6.5 million, they said. Lloyd said he sees the need for a new pool and ballpark as a way to keep McCook going, noting that in 1940 the city population was at 8,000 and today, it’s 7,700. He added that he was saddened that the community seemed to not want to accept the gift.

Elizabeth Benjamin spoke and said a new ballpark has the potential to bring in added city sales revenue, adding that two-thirds of the ballpark costs will be coming from private money.

Council members said this issue has generated the most comments from citizens. The ballot will go before city voters at the Nov. 8 mid-term elections.