Proposed income tax could provide sustainable capital improvement funding for Wyoming’s parks

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The cracks on the basketball courts at Marquette Park. (WKTV)

Walking up to Marquette Park’s basketball court and it’s not hard to see the cracks, partly because they are deep and repaired with a black resurfacer that stands out against the green-and-red-colored court floor.

Just looking at it, no one would deny the courts need to be replaced. That was a goal in 2018, with the city receiving a quote for a base coat and replacement at $72,000. All the City of Wyoming could budget from its Parks and Recreation 2019 budget was $35,500, so the courts got a crack fill and re-coat at $27,000.

“It shows how the price of things have gone up,” said the city’s Director of Community Services Rebecca Rynbrandt. “What you could purchase with a dollar 25 years ago is not the same as what you can purchase with a dollar today.”

An example of that is the playground at Marquette Park. From when the park was constructed more than 25 years ago, it had a playground. Eventually, because of the Michigan weather of freezing temperatures in the winter and humidity in the summer along with just regular use, the equipment had to be replaced. In 2001, the city replaced the playground at only half of its original size for about $20,000. Twenty years later and the cost to replace the playground equipment is $32,000.

Now multiply Marquette Park’s needs by 21 parks equaling more than 700 acres that have varying facilities and maintenance needs. For the City of Wyoming to meet its Capital Replacement Plan over the next nine years, it would need an average of $600,000 per year.

If the two May 3 proposals for an income tax and reduction in property tax are approved, the city would provide $600,000 annual of the estimated $6 million annually generated for sustainable annual capital investment in the city’s park system. About $3.3 million would be used to hire about 27 additional firefighters for the fire department with $2.1 million for the police department, which plans to hire 13 police officers and one crime analyst.

“In 2020, when we received all the income from the parks and recreation millage, fees, and grants and then subtracted out all the expenses, we had about $30,000 left to roll into the fund balance for capital improvements,” Rynbrandt said. The Parks and Recreation millage, which is 1.5 mills, has not been increased in more than 20 years. It is used to fund recreation programs, maintenance services and basic facility upkeep.

In 2001, the City of Wyoming replaced Marquette Park’s playground at half the size of the original. (WKTV)

And while the parks and recreation fund balance is well over a million dollars, the balance is needed to leverage funds and grants to help with park redevelopment and capital improvement projects. This was the case for Ideal Park, which was devastated after two tornados and a flood. A $300,000 Department of Natural Resources Fund grant helped with the parks redevelopment with the city required to match $808,300 in the city parks and recreation millage. The total cost for the redevelopment of Ideal Park was about $1.673 million.

On average, the city needs to have somewhere between $600,000 to $900,000 in cash flow to get the matching grants, she said. It is through matching grants that the city hopes to help fund the cost for the redevelopment of Marquette Park, which the city is currently reviewing a new master plan for the park.

To help with park capital improvements, in 2017 Wyoming voters approved allowing the city’s library millage funding to be used on parks with Ferand, Jackson, Ideal, and Gezon parks receiving funding for redevelopment. Because the cost to fully redevelop a park can be in the millions, the city is only able to do the redevelopment projects in phases. Gezon’s first phase redevelopment is currently underway.

Because there are needs at the Wyoming library — the city owns the facility while Kent District Library owns the materials and handles staffing — per its commitment to residents, the city will use the library millage for the facility improvements.

“Parks are constantly in a state of maintenance and repair,” Rynbrandt said, adding that her team has done well in keeping the city’s parks in tip-top shape and meeting changing community needs such as in recent years, adding a dog park and community garden at Marquette Park.

“There will be needs and items that have to be replaced,”Rynbrandt said. “Just like a roof on a house, after 20 some years, it has to be replaced. So it is with the roofs on our park shelters and facilities.”