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Residents press board over tax impact as Sportsplex financing remains uncertain
Summary
Multiple residents urged the board to secure grant funding before accepting bids, citing recent tax increases; the board said it is pursuing grants but warned delays risk higher construction inflation and that CPA estimates on tax impact are still pending.
At the public meeting on the Recreation Center/Sportsplex, residents repeatedly asked the board to delay awarding contracts until grant funding was certain and until the town could provide a clear estimate of the tax impact.
"Have you got any information on that?" asked Randy Tuzel, who identified himself as living on Redwood, asking about reports of a tax increase "for $1,000 on assessment value of our properties." A committee member replied, "So that's a little bit what Brent was referring to when he referred to the financing package. We don't have a definite tonight. We just got numbers today. We're waiting for our CPA to dial that in for us and we'll have a little more accuracy next week." The board said it expects to reconvene next Wednesday with refined figures before awarding bids.
Several residents urged using grant funding rather than bonds to avoid additional tax burden. Board members responded that the town has been aggressive in pursuing grants but that waiting increases the project's cost over time; one board member said projects delayed for several years had seen costs rise roughly 20%.
The board noted that the largest portion of a property tax bill usually comes from the county rather than the town and that grant awards are highly competitive. No grants had been awarded at the time of the meeting, board members said; a small number of grant applications remained pending.
