Roseville Council To Consider First Step in Master Parks Plan

The city of Roseville could take another big step towards implementing a master parks and recreation plan that spells out dozens of long- and short-range projects at a projected $80 million to $90 million price tag over the next 20 years.

The Parks and Recreation Department is expected to ask the City Council tonight (Monday) to tentatively back issuing $19 million in abatement bonds to fund the first phase of park maintenance and improvement projects over the next five years.

The department will also ask the Council to prepare a resolution and set a public hearing date to issue thosebonds for the final park improvements yet to be determined.

If the City Council ultimately approves issuing the abatement bonds, the impact on Roseville taxpayers would be about  $5 to $6 a month on home valued at $225,000, said Lonnie Brokke, city parks and recreation director.

First phase, or “Step One”, projects would include replacing some park buildings, upgrading tennis courts and skating rinks and adding playground structures and equipment.

The city staff’s request comes after several years of involving hundreds of citizens and gathering information across the community on what Roseville residents want and expect from their parks and recreation system. That process has included holding a series of meetings among nearly 30 neighborhoods to present information to residents and to get their feedback and suggestions.

Earlier this summer, an independent survey found that nearly 70 percent of Roseville residents said they would or might vote for a tax increase to fund improvements to the city’s parks, according to a random survey of 760 Roseville residents conducted by Leisure Vision, a Kansas City-based research firm. 
The survey showed popular support for at least some level of tax increase in exchange for increased services, Roseville Patch previously reported.

About 60 percent of Roseville residents surveyed said they would be willing to pay an additional $3 a month in taxes to increase the parks department’s budget by $3 million a year to pay for the improvement and operating costs of the city’s walking, biking and nature trails.

Further phases of the master parks plan calls for, among other things, construction of a new multipurpose community center.