ST. GEORGE — Due to fears that funding for the city’s recreational pursuits – such as the continuing upkeep of parks and trails and the building of new ones – were at risk of being chopped from the city budget earlier this year, a group of concerned citizens came together to support continued funding for the city’s arts, parks and recreational projects.
With election season in full swing now, the group — the St. George Quality of Life Coalition — is throwing its support behind a general obligation bond for future parks and recreation funding that residents can vote on in November.
The coalition ties the city’s overall quality of life to its many opportunities for outdoor recreation and the benefits they present for residents and visitors.
The group is asking citizens to vote for City Council candidates who will also support the city’s quality of life rather than potentially lessen it due to preferences of what the city should and shouldn’t fund.
“The Quality of Life Coalition is essentially a group of individuals in St. George who feel really strongly that the quality of life in St. George is significant,” said Kent Perkins, the city’s former leisure services director. “It’s why we live here for most reasons. It’s also why a lot of people come here – because we have a great quality of life.”
Perkins, who spoke with St. George News at the city’s rec center in the downtown area, said people need to promote the importance of the city’s quality of life to their neighbors, the City Council and those running for a seat on the council.
Supporting the bond
“The upcoming G.O. bond is extraordinarily important and we want to do all that we can to promote that,” Perkins said.
The bond, which will be on the general election ballot, is set for $29 million over a 25-year period and will fund over 30 projects across the city. This includes the building of new facilities as well as the upkeep and improvement of existing facilities like parts of the city’s trail system, the Dixie Sunbowl, Vernon Worthen Park and others.
The bond is seen as a renewal of a similar bond passed in the mid-1990s that funded many recreation-related facilities the city has today. The tax incurred by the original bond – around $32 per year for a home valued at $585,000 – will remain the same if the new bond is passed.
“The goal was to look forward and pay it forward in a sense,” Perkins said of the passage of the original bond. “This is a great opportunity to build on what they (past voters) did for us.”
However, there is misinformation being spread over social media about the bond, Perkins said, so he encourages voters to learn more about the bond for themselves.
Voting in council members who support the city’s quality of life
“I think it’s particularly important to recognize that we have some elections coming up,” long-time resident Craig Morley said as he stood by Perkins. “We’ve got a large slate of candidates that want to replace three seats on the City Council … It’s important for us to recognize that the people we put into those slots will, in large degree, help set the trajectory on where we will go.”
Just as people who support current and future outdoor recreational pursuits should look at the bond, Morley recommended they look at candidates who will continue to support funding for those projects and not seek to lessen or end it.
“We’re anxious to make sure that people make informed decisions as they select our city leaders,” Morley said. “We would hope we get people city leaders on the council that are supportive of these things and not want to dismantle some of the improvements we’re made in the past.”
Benefits of outdoor recreation to St. George’s quality of life?
Both Perkins and Morley said they could speak on the benefit of outdoor recreation and related items all day and that there are many national studies available on the subject.
Morley said he and his family have personal experience, as they moved to Bloomington Hills in the mid-1980s before Redwood Tree Park was built. Over the following decades the park was heavily used, yet required the play equipment to be replaced as it was becoming dilapidated.
The playground equipment was removed but ended up having a replacement set being delayed due to funding for it being cut from last year’s budget as it related to the five-year public safety plan. The original funding plan involved a proposed property tax hike that failed to pass the City Council and left a pending budget imbalanced at the time. The Redwood Tree Park’s new playground and other items were cut in order to balance the budget before it was adopted by the council.
Fresh funding from the city’s RAP tax fund allowed new equipment to be installed in July.
Prior to the installment of the new playground, the park fell into disuse, which brought crime into the area, Morley said. Once people were drawn back to the park with the new playground, crime all but disappeared from the area.
“We think that having quality outdoor space for our youth and residents to be able to spend time is not only good for our physical and mental health, but it also tends to reduce crime, as we provide useful, vital, wholesome places for people to recreate and spend time,” Morley said.
The area’s outdoor recreational facilities also have economic benefits as they can draw large crowds and events into the city and county overall. Money gained from recurring outdoor events in the county is often credited by city and county officials with saving homeowners between $1,100-$1,400 on property taxes each year.
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