I appreciate that the Bonney Lake City Council has voted to put a Metropolitan Park District (MPD) on the April 2013 ballot.

In my travels trying to pass a bond in 2004, as a former park board member and former city councilmember, and as a resident of the Bonney Lake area for over 25 years, I have heard many wants and needs for our parks, trails and a community center or YMCA.

The last time Bonney Lake attempted a measure to improve parks and trails in Bonney Lake, a super majority of 60 percent was needed, and the final count was 52.3 percent.  If that had been an MPD, which only requires a simple majority, it would have passed and we would be much further with our parks by now, no doubt.  Yes, it has been a long and slow process.

We are coming out of the great recession.  There have been several indicators of that: dropping unemployment, raising median home prices, increased single family home starts in Bonney Lake, increased spending this holiday season over last year are but a few.  This council has taken steps this year to encourage growth of the city, with some success.

And I am encouraged by the statistics provided at the November park board meeting about 20 statewide ballot measures affecting parks.  Eighty-five percent of them received a simple majority, meaning over 50 percent of the voters said “yes” to parks.  In fact, the average among these 17 measures was 61.7 percent.

While some may not have passed because they needed a supermajority, it is impressive that even during these times, the majority of voters are saying “yes” to parks.  The MPD needs a simple majority.

We have numerous events scheduled in our parks that are free to attend but we need parks that support them.  We must ensure we have a venue for Tunes @ Tapps, Bark in the Park, Bonney Lake Days, and Egg Hunts.  We need to do more than maintain what we have.  We need to grow more and better parks for our current and the future needs of our kids, grandkids and us.

According to the park element of the comp plan, we currently have deficits in our parks that will widen with 2025 projections.  A youth center and a pool are our biggest shortfalls. We are 1 ball field short now and lack 120 acres of parks based on our population.

The $25,000 estimate to put this on the ballot could be less depending how many other   issues are on the ballot that we share the cost of.  Unfortunately,  $25,000 is a small amount compared to the projected budget for the suggested park projects listed on the city website.

It will be up to the voters to decide if they can afford to carve some of their household budget out for parks.  If the voters say no, then we will fiscally continue in a holding pattern of maintenance only, just as the city budget suggests.