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V. PARK SYSTEM PROPOSALS <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />The City has taken steps to meet the recreation demand of City residents as <br />witnessed by capital improvements made over much of the last decade. The <br />City, however, faces an uphill struggle in meeting demands stemming from the <br />relative inability to provide adequate facilities to meet demands created by <br />population growth of the 1970's and 1980's. In short, the City finds itself <br />in a position of playing "catch up" to satisfy existing demand which will be <br />exacerbated by new growth - particularly in the urban area. <br /> <br />Funding <br /> <br />At the same time that the City must undertake increased efforts to develop <br />park properties, funding for development is limited. The park trust fund has <br />approximately $100,000 which has been generated by payments of cash in <br />lieu of land which otherwise would have been received through the subdivision <br />process. It is estimated that an additional 2300 housing units can be <br />developed in the City over the next 20 years. Assuming that 75% of this new <br />development makes cash payments of $500 per household while the remaining <br />25% dedicates land, approximately 8863,000 will be generated for the park <br />trust fund. Combined with the current balance, this would amount to <br />8963,000 or approximately the investment costs of the improvements to date <br />in Central Park. Clearly, additional funding sources will be required to fund <br />future park development. Funding of the City's share has limited sources; 1) <br />general fund dollars, 2) bonding, 3) tax increment financing (limited). <br />Regardless of the sources chosen for financing, the City should aggressively <br />pursue appropriate grant funds when they are available for future development. <br />Additionally, the impact new development has on the increased demand for <br />parks must be realized and the development should more equitably shoulder <br />the burden of these impacts. <br /> <br />Task: The City should continue to investigate support for a parks bond issue <br /> in conjunction with a survey of resident's needs for parks and recreation <br /> program needs. <br /> <br />General Tasks <br /> <br />In addition to development of specific parks as outlined in this section and the <br />five year Capital Improvements Program, the City needs to undertake several <br />system wide improvements. These include: <br /> <br />22 <br /> <br /> <br />