[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6140489,"mediaKeyId","5578673-3a28758a37ca6716aebb9e8a1b2b6e1c","parentId",5578673,"title","South End residents press Beaumont council for Alice Keith multipurpose center and more youth services","audioSeconds",217,"startMs",164000,"endMs",381000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5578673-3a28758a37ca6716aebb9e8a1b2b6e1c&start=164&end=381","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5578673-3a28758a37ca6716aebb9e8a1b2b6e1c/thumbnail_164000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6140489/Beaumont/Jefferson-County/Texas/South-End-residents-press-Beaumont-council-for-Alice-Keith-multipurpose-center-and-more-youth-services","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6140489-c54fc1c543a8fd94e0dc572e51138a16/orig.mp4?Expires=1771147600&Signature=JgSUfhHkEIy2WFkDTqx03m9SG~g8VEmLSJE5Ohp3R2JPvrhs7sfR22KY5meIrF~POrtOuSRmSCERYQbR9L3bv5rGmfxzuySGlaniqWTRtNPtps-5HjyqC2FjKHNEz~z7gmbvNMMPocK0HkIE~jVJJ8Y5SpcMN6oW-U8lCOlvnMMWGEdOcVmLCvjtLCSy9-8OodOyl0Mf-mdm3k9M99m6HCAMWDQ6vX8qBIu~AylkyXWmGUQZbRZMy2bvrNcRPlwVr735MHjZgaXn6r7PaEOmpnIH1kxAcyDCPpDV75lYhFy7e4DZtIpRruJ0o2cXZ1jZ-gfFpMIuVsoL~Uh9UDsEjg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Beaumont, TX","date","2025-08-13T00:40:59Z","article","A line of speakers during public comment at a Beaumont City Council meeting urged council members to fund a South End recreation facility and increased youth services, saying children in the neighborhood lack safe places to gather and learn.

\"What I wanted to speak on today really is just trying to make sure that we have something in the South for the kids in the South to do,\" said Jarey Rideau, who identified himself as a lifelong Beaumont resident and longtime volunteer coach.

Multiple speakers said the city has prioritized construction projects such as an updated police station and other facilities but has left the South End without a recreation center. \"This city is prepared to invest $55,000,000 in a police station, $7,000,000 in a fire station, $6,000,000 in an animal shelter, all important. But our children are worth at least that much,\" Joyce Vaughn told the council.

Former coaches, AAU organizers and parents described decades of volunteer youth programming in Beaumont and said the loss of organized space harmed children’s opportunities and safety. Jeanette Bridal described the region’s correctional‑facility footprint and contrasted that with the city’s single recreation center: \"We have built more capacity to lock people up than to lift people up,\" she said.

Several speakers named the Alice Keith Park South End recreation facility as the project they hoped the bond package would fund. Activists and volunteers said the facility should include basketball courts, classrooms, a kitchen and job‑training space rather than being a single-use sports complex. Nathan Hawkins and others presented schematic drawings during the meeting and told council members they had local volunteer and fundraising support.

Why it matters: South End advocates framed the discussion as a long-running equity and service gap: residents said families without reliable transportation cannot reach downtown amenities and that program costs and distance make existing options inaccessible.

Council response and follow-up: Council members discussed categorization of the Alice Keith project during the bond deliberations: some members pushed to include the South End facility under parks and recreation; others supported classifying it as a multipurpose facility within the public-safety/facilities proposition so programming, classroom space and job training could be reflected in the ballot description. Council ultimately approved including the Alice Keith facility under the facilities/public safety proposition for the November ballot; staff was asked to finalize the wording with bond counsel and to confirm a $2 million grant referenced in the meeting.

Speakers during public comment also pressed for other near-term fixes — safer bus service, maintenance of playgrounds and more reliable after-school options — and asked that councilers factor those needs into the bond prioritization.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Special City Council Meeting Aug 12, 2025 | City of Beaumont, TX","oneSentenceSummary","Dozens of residents spoke during public comment urging the council to invest in recreation and youth services in the South End, including support for an Alice Keith Park multipurpose facility mentioned in the bond package.","taxTitle","Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas","taxId",2805,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6140496,"Beaumont council to call Nov. 4 special election on $316 million bond package and 2% venue tax",9455,2288000,11743000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5578673-3a28758a37ca6716aebb9e8a1b2b6e1c&start=2288&end=11743","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5578673-3a28758a37ca6716aebb9e8a1b2b6e1c/thumbnail_2288000.jpg","/articles/6140496/Beaumont/Jefferson-County/Texas/Beaumont-council-to-call-Nov-4-special-election-on-316-million-bond-package-and-2-venue-tax","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6140496-802dc8af8dae7a3e3ce6c4f57ec931d6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771147600&Signature=gjqGDy~D1F12GNOrGRA~j7ZDMVUFlCz0HIxRiz0OMfxqXe-oADZRLmNvrAvDRSlsHwjoPuGnnlP0hbrOM~0ciehr7yASZ9eFJqjR98NQRxZ5rQIftjZF~MCXFRAk12x3Jtrr4TTQAkqrHDp2qumEQ0jlxwvcKwgxLebxzxbXL8wkoo-e77D9VMCICuzI9Hl6cwaTGekCQnUo7ez3UssAi-yBGGNylImEcZK83ukDXqgk4jEaDhzWbmu9KFBOXmLVhN67ZTi3Vwl2sIG5u8gDWHacmLCW48eLNxbdhoeA312foTBve20ZoTaiz8TqGFJQmuRB04CO4c86kH4U0HDvqg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Beaumont City Council voted to call a special election on Nov. 4, 2025, putting a multi-proposition bond package and a separate 2% hotel-occupancy (venue) tax before voters, city officials said at a council meeting.

The city’s bond advisers put a tentative price tag on the package at about $316,400,000, which Gap Strategies consultant Jeff Barton said would translate to roughly $17.18 per month for the owner of an average-valued $150,000 home if every proposition passed. \"That puts you at a total after yesterday's workshop ... tentatively, you're at $316,400,000. That would be $17.18 approximately on the tax rate,\" Barton said during the meeting.

Council members and bond advisers spent much of the meeting debating how to group projects into propositions, whether to keep the overall monthly impact under the $15 level the citizen survey favored, and which large projects to include. Major items the council discussed included a proposed new police headquarters, a multipurpose center at Alice Keith Park in the city’s South End, street and drainage projects, an expanded Riverfront Park component and the long‑discussed Dallin Road extension and Point Parkway North extension.

Why it matters: If voters approve the measures, the city will issue general obligation bonds for the projects in the propositions; if some propositions fail, the tax effect for homeowners would be lower because the full package’s estimated tax impact assumes every item passes. Council members and advisers repeatedly told the public the presented $17.18 figure was the high‑end estimate if all items passed and that individual propositions will still be voted on separately by residents.

What council approved: By voice votes during the meeting the council approved the ordinance to call the Nov. 4 special election and the accompanying election contract. The council also approved the separate proposal to put a 2% venue tax on the same ballot — a measure that would raise visitor taxes specifically to pay for a proposed downtown riverfront convention center. The council voted to structure propositions for parks, public safety and citywide infrastructure and to treat certain large projects as separate ballot propositions so voters could accept some and reject others.

How the propositions are presented: City and bond advisers presented six main propositions (in the order discussed at the meeting):
- Proposition A: citywide sidewalks, street improvements and drainage work (infrastructure)
- Proposition B: public safety and city facilities, including a planned replacement police headquarters and related facility needs and the Alice Keith multipurpose center
- Proposition C: parks and recreation projects (Terrell Park and other park improvements)
- Proposition D: Dallin Road extension (considered as its own proposition during the meeting but not advanced by motion)
- Proposition E: Point Parkway North extension
- Separate proposition: Riverfront Park expansion (moved off the parks proposition to be a distinct ballot item during council debate)

Council members debated whether to keep the Dallin Road extension on the ballot or postpone it to a future bond; a motion to approve Dallin Road as a stand‑alone proposition failed for lack of a second. Council members also debated whether the Alice Keith facility should be categorized under parks and recreation or under facilities/public safety — the council ultimately folded Alice Keith into the facilities/public safety package as a multipurpose center.

Votes at a glance (meeting record)
- Ordinance calling the Nov. 4, 2025 special election (overall ballot language as structured at the meeting): approved (voice vote). Councilman Corey Crenshaw recorded a vote against the final ordinance and spoke publicly about concerns he said voters would read the approval as support for certain park spending; the roll call on the final ordinance otherwise showed the council approving the item.
- Proposition A (sidewalks, street, drainage): approved (voice vote).
- Proposition B (public safety/facilities, including Alice Keith multipurpose center): approved (voice vote).
- Proposition C (parks and recreation, with Riverfront Park taken out to stand as a separate item): approved (voice vote with amendment to move Riverfront out).
- Proposition D (Dallin Road extension presented as a separate motion): motion to approve had no second and did not pass at that time.
- Proposition E (Point Parkway North extension): approved (voice vote).
- Item 2 (2% hotel occupancy/venue tax to finance a downtown riverfront convention center): approved (voice vote).
- Item 3 (authorize joint election agreement and election services contract with Jefferson County and other local entities for the Nov. 4 election): approved (voice vote).

Council and staff comments: Council members repeatedly returned to the $15/month benchmark the citizen committee’s survey suggested as popular, and several council members urged trimming the package or making some large projects separate items so voters could decide individually. City manager and consultants said some contingency and inflationary cushions were included in the project totals. Gap Strategies’ Barton described the contingency and inflation additions and said the numbers remain early estimates, subject to change as staff refines budgets, phases issuance, and actual property value changes affect tax-rate calculations.

What remains: Staff and bond counsel will prepare final ordinance and ballot language reflecting the structure the council approved; the council agreed to schedule further public education and a workshop to explain the proposals and to continue refining the projects and costs before the city publishes final ballot language. The venue tax measure and the propositions will appear on the Nov. 4 special election ballot if the city retains the published schedule.","The Beaumont City Council voted to call a Nov. 4, 2025 special election on a multi-proposition bond package and a separate 2% hotel occupancy (venue) tax to fund a proposed downtown riverfront convention center. Council discussion at a long meeting focused on tax impact, which projects to include and how to present the package to voters.","actionData","errors"]

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South End residents press Beaumont council for Alice Keith multipurpose center and more youth services

Beaumont council to call Nov. 4 special election on $316 million bond package and 2% venue tax