Failed Parks GO Bond

In April 2003 city voters rejected a $35 million GO Bond initiative that would have provided the city with necessary funding to purchase additional city park land and in particular the Festival Park. The construction industry supported the GO Bond. If the city had GO Bond money in hand for parks it would relax the need for park impact fee increases.

Since the failure of the GO Bond the city has been purchasing park land as impact fee money accumulated as opposed to buying all of the land at one time with the money the GO Bond would have provided. Also if you recall, the Cape Coral Civic Association supported the GO Bond initiative at that time. Civic supported the initiative since it recognized back then that the cost for park land (as we are now seeing) for the purchases over time would greatly increase the cost to the city. Perhaps one reason the GO Bond failed was because of the “Go Play Cape Coral” marketing scheme supporting the need for the GO Bond. Perhaps the voters needed a better education on the importance of the Park GO Bonds as opposed to asking for voter approval based on “Go Play” concept.

Over the past two years city land values have skyrocketed. This means that Park Impact Fees that were established two years ago are now buying less and less land and that the original projections for the cost to complete the land purchases for Festival Park are now far higher than originally anticipated by the city. There is now the question of affordability when it comes to completion of the Festival Park in addition to the fact that over the past two years all available Park Impact fees were not solely dedicated to this project.

Two years ago the city administration submitted recommendations calling for an increase in park impact fees from $460. to $1450. to help pay the cost of the bond. However, the majority on council at that time refused to allow the Park Impact Fees to be increased more than the current amount of $1115. for a new single family residential home. Just think about the amount of money that has been lost to the city by not having the additional $335 over the past two years alone. There is now talk of asking the voters to again consider a Parks GO Bond. In the mean time council should also consider revisiting the Park Impact Fees for another increase.