Metro park proposal on ballot

The request to form a metropolitan park district in Colfax was submitted on deadline and will be on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot, City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello reported to the city council Aug. 15. He noted the city had to scramble to get the proposal to the county elections staff by the Aug. 2 deadline.

The metro park district proposal evolved out of discussions on the condition of the aging Colfax swim pool which now faces increased annual costs for repairs and equipment.

Rizzitiello said the city’s ballot proposal will include three questions in a single ballot item. The ballot will ask city voters to approve formation of the metro park and recreation district with members of the city council as the district board and to fund it with a levy of 50 cents per each $1,000 of assessed valuation.

Rizzitiello said the resolution was presented in an emergency format.

The city council at its Aug. 1 meeting approved a resolution to place the measure on the ballot. The measure was presented to the council after it was approved by the park board in a special meeting which was called before the city council session.

Formation of a special park district inside the city limits was proposed after an attempt by the city to form a metropolitan park district which would have included all of the Colfax School District failed to advance past the Whitman County commissioners who declined to put it on the county ballot.

Formation of a metro district which included school district property outside of Colfax would have required its own board of directors.

Rizzitiello said he planned to develop a web page and put out an information sheet on the metro park proposal. He said the city could provide information about the proposal without campaigning for the measure. He noted Pullman also developed a web page when they put a similar proposal before voters there.