Recently the Washington Parish Recreation District #1
Board of Directors decided to remove a property tax proposal from the May 3
ballot. The proposal was for the construction and operation of a new recreation
complex that would have served Franklinton, Mt. Hermon, Pine, Enon, Hackley and
other local communities.
The decision to remove the tax from the ballot was very
difficult and only made after careful consideration and much prayer. The
project has been in the works for the last six years by a group of seven
dedicated volunteers appointed by the Washington Parish Council. These
volunteers have given their time, efforts and even money in an attempt to
provide much-needed opportunities for our communities.
Nobody likes property taxes and it wouldn't have been the
route the board chose to go if we would have known of other funding sources. We
agree that a property tax isn't a way for everyone to equally share the cost
and I respect those who were supportive or opposed. It seems like the majority
agrees that the project is needed, but disagreed on the funding method. That's
certainly understandable.
What the citizens of this recreation district hopefully
realize is that we need to come up with a funding source that is agreeable to
the majority and hopefully many more. Using St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parish
residents as examples, they realize that if you want good recreation it's going
to cost you something. If you want good roads it's going to cost you something.
If you want good law enforcement it's going to cost you something. We can't sit
back and wait for the government to write us a check so that everyone can
realize the benefits of this. The fact is that this is going to cost people a
little money if we want it to become a reality.
Chappapeela Park in Hammond (recently completed at $17
million for 90 acres) held their Strawberry Cup soccer tournaments on two
consecutive weekends. They played a combined total of 276 soccer matches in
four days. Meanwhile, our local children weren't able to play a single game during
these days because the fields and parking areas were too wet. This isn't a knock
on anyone involved with our local soccer association. It's simply an example of
what we’re missing out on by having outdated facilities in all of our youth
leagues. To try and update them is only putting a Band-Aid on the problem. When
others are asked about their recreation parks, other communities speak of their
parks with a source of pride. They see the benefits offered to their citizens
and received from an economic standpoint.
After we removed the property tax from the May 3 ballot,
it was easy to find comments on social media pages as well as in the newspaper with
people boasting that "we won". The truth is nobody won. Our children
are still playing in antiquated facilities, our businesses, schools system,
hospital, etc. aren't receiving funds from what a new park would generate and
there's still no solution for a funding source at the moment.
Hopefully we're still not stuck at a crossroads with this
project in 20 years. I know the
recreation district board isn't throwing in the towel. We've had setbacks
before and managed to find a solution to work through them, so quitting isn't
an option.
If someone has a
recommendation then we hope they'll present it to us. Until a solution is found
and this recreation complex is built, there are no winners in this matter.
