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Resounding 'no' on St. Charles rec center tax increase

There will be no new family recreation center, turf fields or open space in St. Charles as voters rejected a $28 million tax increase request Tuesday night.

Open space and a full recreation center were the top two needs in all the community surveys performed by the St. Charles Park District. But the survey responses didn't match the ballot boxes Tuesday. Unofficial results with all 37 precincts reporting showed voters rejecting the proposal by almost a four to one margin. There were 1,355 "yes" votes, compared to 4,203 "no" votes.

Commissioners pitched the tax increases as a need rather than a want. Natural outdoor playing fields are showing wear from heavy use. The district's lone indoor basketball court is in constant use. Space for volleyball and pickle ball is also lacking. And there is no indoor fitness center in the district.

Park board President Bob Thomson said users of the district's facilities will just have to live with cramped spaces and waiting times for court space until commissioners decide on the next move. Commissioners meet next Tuesday and will likely have some preliminary reaction to the failure of the tax increase.

"We're going to continue to put our best efforts forward to serve the community," Thomson said. "You've got to do the best with what you've got in a situation like this."

The still-flagging economy played a role in the tax increases defeat, Thomson said, but commissioners knew a $92 tax increase on a $300,000 home would be hard to swallow for many residents.

"There's just a percentage of people out there that will vote 'no' on any referendum," he said. "Those are people who are not happy with adding any more taxes. For a lot of people $92 is not a lot of money. But for some people, especially those on a fixed income, they don't like it."

Thomson said the fitness center element of the plan seemed to draw some opposition from local, private gyms as a possible rival. The location of the rec center, on the far western edge of the city, also fueled some 'no' votes, Thomson said. James O' Breen Park is one of the few spaces in the park district's current land holdings capable of hosting a building the size of the rec center, Thomson said. The alternative is asking for even more money to buy space in the middle of the city.

"We know there's a need for rec center space," Thomson said. "This outcome is going to hamper the groups that want that space. Without the passage of the referendum, there's just no funding available to move forward with these projects."

  St. Charles voters rejected a $28 million tax increase request from the park district that would have funded construction of an 81,800 square-foot recreation center, install new turf fields and buy more than $4 million in new open space. Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com
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