Acting on the authority granted three years ago by a referendum vote, the park district board voted to sell the remainder of its capital improvement bonds last month, and is projecting a decrease in its property tax rate.
At the Oct. 19 board meeting, members voted to sell two bonds that will fund a number of improvements to the park facilities. Revenue from that sale, totaling more than $1.9 million, will be put toward interest payments that would otherwise be paid by property taxes, according to park district treasurer Jerry Sebesta.
A total of $379,457 in interest payments will be made between 2007 and 2010, according to the district.
“By selling those bonds they are paying this interest and not having to put it on the tax bill,” Sebesta said.
Based on the most recent tax levy issued by the park district, Sebesta estimated the $94,800 in annual interest payments amounts to a 5 percent decrease in the park district’s tax rate.
The bonds, sold in October, will help fund work that began in 2003 as part of the park district’s five-year capital improvement plan. The bulk of the money will be spent on renovating the administrative building that was originally constructed in the 1930s, Sebesta said. New office and lobby space will be created, in addition to installing an elevator, according to a written statement from the park district board.
The bonds sold in 2003 paid for the new skate park, a walking circuit, resurfacing of the Aquatic Center waterslides, renovations to another administrative building and playing field improvements.
