The proposal to build a new performing arts and aquatic center in Truckee with public bonds was rejected by voters on Tuesday.
Voters in Nevada and Placer counties were almost evenly divided on the question of whether to tax themselves to help finance the projects with an $8.5 million bond issue. Another $7 million in construction funding would have come from the Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District’s capital reserves.
The proposal won support from 54 percent of voters, shy of the two-thirds majority required to float general obligation (GO) bonds in California.
“In my discussions with the voters there were four major issues,” said Lynne Larson, who spearheaded the ‘No on J’ campaign. “They didn’t want any more taxes, no matter how small. The current local economy was a huge factor.”
A Sierra Meadows resident living on a fixed income, Larson went on to say that opponents felt the performing arts center and the aquatic center should have each stood on their own merit, instead of being bundled together, and that the public pool at Truckee High School should have been renovated instead of building a new one.
Proponents, many of whom have worked on these projects for the better part of the decade, were devastated.
“An economic opportunity like this is not going to come along again,” said Kevin Murphy, a Truckee insurance agent who serves on the district’s board of directors. “For as much good as this was going to generate, I don’t see the rec district doing this again. I am disappointed.”
A slow economy, coupled with low interest rates and the opportunity to match public funds with banked savings made this an ideal time to invest in public facilities, Murphy said. He chalks the loss up to a public distortion of the facts and insufficient time to “dispel the rumors.”
With many homeowners struggling just to meet their basic expenses, the timing of the bond measure also made it a difficult sell to voters.
“At 54 percent, had it been a state initiative, it would have passed,” said Steve Randall, who runs the district. “My basic take on it was that the community came to us saying they wanted these facilities. We did some survey work to determine that there was a want and a need for these, so we put it out before the voters, and basically the board did their due diligence.”
With $7 million in matching funds from the Truckee Donner Recreation and Park District, the bond proceeds would have financed a state-of-the-art, 282-seat performing arts center as well as an aquatic center with an eight-lane, 25-yard heated lap pool and a recreation pool with its own “lazy river,” a play feature for children and non-weight bearing water exercise for older residents.
The cost homeowners would have been just under $7 per $100,000 of assessed valuation, according to projections. The additional funding was to have come from money the district banked during the construction of its new community center, a multi-use facility off Highway 89 that was constructed under budget.
What happens next is anyone’s guess.
The district board meets Thursday night, and the bond measure is one of the items on the agenda. But there’s a chance the issue might be tabled for a future meeting until elected officials can digest the results of the election defeat.
“The needle has tipped over from a ‘can-do’ to a ‘can’t-do’ attitude, and to me that’s unfortunate,” said Murphy. “I’m not sure what we’re going to do and how we’re going to solve this $7 million puzzle. Once you commit funds, you can’t take them away.”
But with swimmers wanting a pool and performers wanting a stage, the question will be: which project prevails?
Even Randall, who has managed the district for the past 27 years, can’t answer that question.
“I can’t predict where we’re going to go at this point,” he said.
