Provo residents likely to vote on bond to build city rec center

PROVO — The details are still fuzzy, but Provo residents probably will vote in November on a $34 million to $41 million bond to build a new city recreation center.

The Provo City Council expressed support Tuesday for a bond election that would let residents decide if they want to pay for the proposed 150,000-square-foot center with indoor pools, indoor track and basketball courts, as well as space for a new senior citizens center. The center would be located in Provo's North Park at 500 N. Freedom Boulevard and would integrate the existing Veterans Memorial Pool.

"We have very inefficient facilities that just don't meet the public needs," said Councilman Sterling Beck. "This is the No. 1 question I get: Why can't Provo build something as nice as other cities?"

In fact, a city-sponsored survey by Dan Jones & Associates shows widespread support for a new recreation center, and putting it on November's general election ballot will give residents a chance to back that opinion with their pocketbooks.

The City Council has until Aug. 17 to decide what the proposed center would look like and how much the bond might be if it is going to appear on the November ballot.

Brian Baker, vice president for Zions Bank Public Finance, urged council members to act more quickly, in June or July, to give the city more time to educate voters about the details of the proposal.

Jon Bronson, managing director of Zions Bank Public Finance, said it is a great time to finance large public projects, as interest rates and construction rates both are low, an unusual consequence of the national economic slowdown.

"We are seeing construction costs being very aggressive right now," Bronson said. "If you have money, now is a good time for a project like this. The problem is, most people don't have money."

And while interest rates are climbing gradually, they are doing so from the lowest rates in 45 years.

The other plus is that residents would start paying off the recreation center bond about the same time as the city is retiring the bond for the Provo City Library at Academy Square.

"That gives you some options," Bronson said. "You can roll refunding the library bond into new money bonds to mitigate the tax impact."