The proposed $143 million bond to invest in parks, trails and recreation across Billings failed by a wide margin in Tuesday's election.
There were 22,225 votes against the bond, with 10,204 in favor, according to preliminary results released by the Yellowstone County Elections Office on Tuesday evening.
A group of Billings business and nonprofit leaders in September kicked off an effort aimed at convincing voters to pay more in property taxes to invest in parks, trails and recreation projects across the city.
The $143 million bond would have allowed the city to build a 177,000-square-foot recreation center on the South Side and invest in about a dozen other parks and trails projects across Billings.
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It would have cost taxpayers an extra $50 for each $100,000 of assessed property value, according to city estimates.
With the median tax value for a home in Billings now around $307,600, that's about $153 a year for the average homeowner.
Opponents argued it wasn’t the right time for the city to ask voters for money to invest in parks, trails and recreation because taxes are already going up due to the recent rise in property values. And, they worried the city wasn’t being clear about how much the bond projects might cost taxpayers in the long run.
Play It Forward Billings, the organization dedicated to passage of the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Center Bond, issued the following statement on the election results:
“One of the reasons we felt so strongly about passage of this bond was the tremendous investment it would have made in our youth. Billings is changing, and as we grow, we must provide more assets for our kids and grandkids that result in healthy, safe, and positive interactions. We are sad to see that, despite our best efforts, the projects contained in this bond will not become a reality at this time. We remain committed to making Billings a more vibrant city, and each of us will continue to be involved in civic and philanthropic endeavors in our personal and professional capacities moving forward. While we had hoped for a different outcome, we will never stop working on behalf of the city we love. We encourage city leadership, including the newly elected City Council members, to consider a future ballot measure that will appropriately invest in our shared community assets.
Finally, thank you to every person who voted in favor of this proposal, and every volunteer, donor, and community member who helped build this movement. We are proud of the years of work that it took to get a package like this on the ballot.”
Several groups that came together to campaign for the bond’s passage agreed to pitch in private dollars to help lower the cost to taxpayers, including $25 million from the South Billings Boulevard Urban Renewal District, $12 million from the Billings Chamber of Commerce, $8 million from the city's hoteliers and $2 million from the Par Montana refinery in Lockwood, among others.
Billings First Interstate Bank President Brian Brown and local realtor Julie Seedhouse started the "Play It Forward" political action committee to raise money and help garner public support for the bond.
They said the investment would help provide more safe, healthy activities for Billings residents and help businesses attract and retain talented workers. The money would have allowed the city to build a $110 million recreation center next to Amend Park at the corner of King Avenue East and South Billings Boulevard.
The bond would also have provided more than $26 million to improve several city parks, $10.1 million to renovate the South Park Pool, $6 million to put in a West End water reservoir and another $14 million to invest in other recreation and trails projects.
In July, the City Council decided by a 7-to-4 vote to put the bond measure on the Nov. 7 ballot. Members Jennifer Owen and Roy Neese, who represent the Heights in Ward 2, and Pam Purinton and Dan Tidswell, who serve the neighborhoods along Rimrock Road in Ward 4, opposed asking for the money this year.
Billings voters last had the chance to weigh in on whether to invest in city parks, recreation and trails in 1999.
Projects and proposed bond amounts:
South Side recreation center $110 million
South Park Pool renovation $10.1 million
Zimmerman and North Park centers $8 million
Water reservoir $6 million
Castle Rock Park $12.1 million
Centennial Park $8 million
Poly Vista Park $4 million
Coulson Park $2 million
Cottonwood Park $606,000
Trail Projects $4.1 million
Stagecoach Trail $712,050