LOVELAND, OHIO – Last Spring, in urging voters to build a YMCA in Phillips Park, Loveland City
Manager said, "One gets few second chances in life."
Will he now say, “Three times a charm.”?
City Council voted 4-2 on Tuesday night to place the YMCA issue back on the ballot. The measure, if approved by the voters on November 6, will increase the City income tax by the same amount as the voters rejected in May. The proposal, is to up the tax rate from 1% to 1.2% to pay for the construction of a $9.5 million YMCA on land adjacent to Phillips Park on Fallis Road.
The issue however has a sunset provision this time of 28 years, and the “Outdoor Pool Concept” has been altered. (Click images to see larger views))
Council members, Joe Schickel, Dan Daly, Todd Osborne, and Rob Wiesgerber voted for the ordinance, and Katie Showler and Paul Elliott voted, “No.” David Bednar was absent from the meeting due to a death in the family.
City Manager Tom Carroll also announced details of revised lease terms with the YMCA of Greater Cincinnati. He said in a memo to City Council that the lease was being re- negotiated “...to ensure that all residents of Loveland will have access to the recreation center even if they do not wish to become full YMCA members." The City has said that in 2007, membership rates for the Greater Cincinnati YMCA was $76 per month for a family of four. Families that make less than $55,000 per year are eligible for discounts on a sliding scale. A scholarship program will also be available for families with income levels below $25,000.
According to Carroll, each Loveland household would annually receive a $100 voucher that they can use to pay the YMCA joining fee or pay for a program or class. Also, each year, every Loveland household will receive five passes that can be used to enter the facility. Each pass is good for one family visit, regardless of how many family members attend on a particular day.
Other changes however are a step back from the previous proposal. In the old agreement the joining fee was waived for residents for the first twelve years of the agreement, and after twelve-years, they would pay 50% of the fee. Carroll said the terms he has now negotiated will requirer a resident to join within six months of the facility's opening, to have the fee waived.
Another change Carroll announced was that for those who work in Loveland and pay taxes here, they will have to pay the joining fee unless their place of employment has a total of five YMCA members. “Under the previous agreement, any nonresident income taxpayer would not have to pay a joining fee for the first twelve years of the lease term, and would thereafter pay 50% of the joining fee,” according to Carroll.
Carroll said that Loveland residents will still receive, “a special membership rate of 80% of the normal Cincinnati YMCA rate.”
Although Council voted to put the tax issue on the ballot last night, the lease agreement won't be in front of them until August 24.
Before voting against the ordinance, Showler said, “The changes were nice and I am glad I will be getting five free passes. And the sunset provision is nice because people were concerned about it. This was on the ballot in May, but the people did vote, no – the people that voted for us.”
Before voting no, Elliott asked Finance Director, Bill Taphorn to clarify a recent report he made to the City Finance Committee on June 9. Taphorn told the committee that in a study he completed after the May election, he determined that although interest rates are increasing, and constructions cost will rise, that the YMCA debt could be retired in less than twenty-five years. Taphorn also said in June that the income rate could be reduced from the proposed 1.2 percent to 1.1 percent, perhaps as early as the year 2020. Taphorn responded to Elliott's question on Tuesday night by affirming, “It would be possible, depending on the size of the project, that the tax increase could be lowered from 0.2 to 0.1 percent.”
Minutes of the June meeting also say that Taphorn speculated, “...the City could retire the debt in less than 25 years and still have a healthy reserve for recreation center costs beyond the end of the tax.” The measure approved by council last night proposes that the increase of 0.2% remain in effect for twenty-eight years. Taphorn told Loveland Magazine on Thursday that the new tax would generate approximately $620,000.00 in the first year and grow by 3% each year thereafter. Taphorn said he is currently is unsure of the project cost, because of design changes made in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, Elliott explained his vote by saying, “First and foremost, as there is no significant change in the proposed facility nor the funding mechanism, I feel that the voter’s rejection in May should be respected. I have always thought that the proposed tax increase is arbitrary and inequitable. Such a tax burden would not be shared equally by all taxpayers, and or, residents. Only a select group of taxpayers would actually fund the YMCA, and even a more select few would realistically be able to financially access the facility."
No other council members commented on the plan before voting.
The City says, "For a family with a household income of $100,000 a year, the new tax rate will cost an additional $200 per year." In addition to the proposed recreation facility, the City is proposing about $750,000 of the tax receipts fund upgrades to existing parks.
Heather Wilkoski, is one of the members of the Recreation Aquatic Center Committee who studied, analized, and held public meetings over the past several months. The committee sought public input on why the tax was rejected in May. Wilkoski spoke during the “Open Forum” at the council meeting and read a statement on behalf of the committee, explaining changes, and how they came to their decision to recommend the issue be placed back on the ballot again. She urged Council to pass the ordinance.
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