MORTON (25News Now) -The Morton Park District is asking for your vote on a bond referendum for the Nov. 3 election.
The park district said the proposed $4.8 million bond issue would help provide funding for multiple capital improvements for the park district that otherwise could not be completed with current revenue.
The question states: “Shall the Morton Park District, Tazewell County, Illinois, improve, equip and maintain parks and park facilities, including construction of a splash pad at Idlewood Park, and issue its bonds to the amount of $4,800,000 for the purpose of paying the costs thereof?”
This would cover the construction of a new splash pad at the Morton pool, and include improvements to Lakewood Park, Southwood Park, McClallen Park, and the bike trail.
Park District Executive Director Joel Dickerson said if the bond referendum is approved, current taxes for residents will not go up.
“In 2008, the voters approved a referendum that allowed us to build a Morton pool. We are paying the pool bonds off in December of 2027 and this bond would actually just replace that bond,” said Dickerson.
“…it would allow us to be able to bring in this revenue and be able to do a number of capital improvements projects without raising the park district’s tax rates.”
At the parks current $2.5 million in tax income, Dickerson said that it is already being used to pay for upkeep of the parks and operations. He added that if Morton residents vote no, the park district will continue providing family friendly, safe and clean parks, but not invest in large-scale projects.
The park currently employs nine full-time workers and about 200 people throughout the year, according to Dickerson, including high school and college-aged students who work during the summer.
“One of the things that we believe is a big selling point of the Morton Park District is that tax revenue that we receive, the majority of it goes right back into the pockets of households in our community when their kids come to work for us. We give them their first opportunity for a job; we give them good experience and responsibility and learning how to be a good productive member of the workforce…,” said Dickerson.
The park district will hold another informational meeting at Freedom Hall, Tuesday Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. Freedom Hall is located at 349 W. Birchwood St.
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