Mesa, Ariz., will finance extensive upgrades to its parks system if voters approve $70 million of general obligation bonds in November.
The City Council adopted the proposed project list last month after whittling it down from the $131 million referendum proposed by a citizens advisory committee.
Bond projects include $37.8 million of improvements to existing parks, $10.8 million to acquire a historic motel and expand a downtown plaza, $8.7 million for new sports complexes at two closed schools, and $5.5 million for hike and bike trails.
The city would also provide four new parks as compensation for building a baseball stadium on a former golf course. The effort is expected to cost $7.3 million.
Proponents said a recent poll of Mesa residents found more than 75% supported the bond proposal.
Approval of the GO bonds would result in a $25 a year increase in property taxes on an average home.
Mesa voters approved a $170 million bond referendum in 2008.
Mesa’s $256 million of outstanding GO debt is rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA by Standard & Poor’s.
At the same election, Mesa voters will face a $230 million GO bond request from Maricopa Unified School District No. 4.
The school bond referendum is the largest request in Arizona since voters in Pima County Unified School District No. 1 approved a $235 million bond package in 2004.
The district’s $270 million of outstanding GO debt is rated Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service and A-plus by Standard & Poor’s.
Mesa, about 20 miles east of Phoenix, has about 440,000 residents.
