Lacey presentation details Metropolitan Park District ballot measure, projects and costs

Jen Burbage, director of parks, culture and recreation for the City of Lacey, told an audience that registered voters within city limits will decide on Aug. 5 whether to create a Lacey Metropolitan Park District to provide ongoing funding to maintain, operate and improve parks, trails and recreational facilities.

The measure, Proposition 1 on the Aug. 5 ballot, would establish MPD boundaries coterminous with the city limits, place governance with the Lacey City Council and authorize a property tax rate up to a maximum of $0.45 per $1,000 of assessed value. "They would pay $225 per year or $18.75 per month," Burbage said, using a $500,000 assessed-value example. Burbage said the MPD is estimated to generate about $5,900,000 per year and is intended to supplement, not replace, existing parks and recreation funding.

An MPD would be a continuing, dedicated funding source for improvements, acquisitions, maintenance and operations. "An MPD would fund expanded maintenance including maintenance of new facilities," Burbage said, and she described MPDs as "junior property taxing districts that are authorized by state law." The City Council would serve as the MPD board and approve the MPD budget, she said.

Burbage summarized the current Lacey Parks department: about 40 full-time staff (18 in Lacey Parks and 22 in the Public Works Parks Maintenance Division), an operating budget of roughly $10,400,000 per year, more than 1,200 acres of park property (about 59% undeveloped or partially developed), 22 developed parks and four trails. The department runs about 1,000 classes and programs annually, delivering roughly 350,000 hours of recreation with approximately 90,000 participant contacts each year.

She described project priorities that community outreach and the Parks Improvement Funding Work Group identified, noting the city gathered more than 8,700 comments and survey responses during the comprehensive-plan process. Major projects or needs Burbage highlighted include:

- Great Keough Park: Phase 1 (under construction) will open about 139 acres of a 537-acre site with an inclusive playground, picnic shelter, roughly 2 miles of trails (some bridaled, some mulched), an 18-hole disc golf course, parking and access drive. Later phases identified in the master plan but currently unfunded could add trails, a dog park, a zip line-style playground feature and restrooms.

- Virgil S. Clarkson Senior Center: the facility faces overcrowding and insufficient, distant overflow parking; the city owns the building while Senior Services for South Sound manages programs within it.

- Brooks Park: a 1.1-acre neighborhood park with no amenities the city would develop to better serve a low-income area near Mountain View Elementary (Burbage said about 68% of Mountain View students are on free or reduced-price lunch).

- Long Lake Park and Watchers Park (Hicks Lake area): the city acquired an additional 1.8 acres adjacent to Long Lake Park in 2022; Burbage said Long Lake is the city's only outdoor swimming area and requires erosion and beach-slope work. Watchers Park is minimally developed and needs a new master plan, trails, parking and a possible swim or fishing area.

- Rainier Vista Park, Meridian Park and other neighborhood sites: Rainier Vista is planned for four pickleball courts, a spray park and outdoor table-tennis; Meridian Park remains unfinished and could add a multiuse sports field, pickleball, skate features or a pump track after a master-plan update.

- Partnerships and early-childhood site: the city and partners are considering an indoor playground and spray park adjacent to the North Thurston Public Schools Young Child and Family Center to serve preschoolers and families.

Burbage emphasized maintenance needs across the system: playgrounds at the Regional Athletic Complex (RAC) are heavily used and nearing replacement; Rainier Vista Playground is 21 years old and many playgrounds are out of warranty, making repairs costly and parts hard to source. She listed specific maintenance needs at Hohman Park (picnic-area renovation), Lake Pointe Park (tennis and basketball court resurfacing), Wonderwood Park (trail repairs) and others.

Burbage noted past funding: voters approved a parks bond about 23 years ago for nearly $10 million; some bond debt retired in 2023 and additional debt will retire in 2026, illustrating that bonds do not provide ongoing maintenance funding. She reviewed funding sources that currently support parks operations (city general fund, program and rental fees, Public Facilities District sales-tax allocation for the RAC, and lodging tax for the RAC, Lacey Museum and certain events) and said the MPD revenue would be intended to supplement those sources.

No formal council action or vote on the MPD occurred during the presentation; Burbage encouraged residents to review FAQ materials and the MPD web page for more details. "If you wanna find out more information, please visit cityoflacey.org/mpd," she said.

For more information, city materials and a frequently asked-questions page are available at cityoflacey.org/mpd or by calling the number listed on the city's MPD page.