The Redmond Area Park and Recreation District is currently building a new community center in southwest Redmond, paid for by a $49 million bond approved by voters in 2022.

In the Nov. 5 election, the park district is seeking a 5-year local option levy for the second time to fund the new building’s operations.

“I anticipate it’s going to be a gathering place for our community,” said Katie Hammer, executive director. “It’s going to be able to bring people together; people will have greater opportunity to participate in health and wellness activities at an affordable cost.”

The new center will be a 56,000-square-foot facility with two pools, one with eight lanes for lap swimming and the second as a leisure pool with a hot tub and water slide. It will also have a gymnasium lined for basketball, pickleball and volleyball with a walking track around the edge, an open fitness area with weight equipment, group fitness classrooms and more. The building is scheduled to open in early 2026.

The park district asked for operating funds in 2022, but the operations levy failed in the same election that the construction bond passed. If this year’s levy passes, the district would first receive the funding in November 2025.

The levy will help fund operations of the new building, including for staffing, pool chemicals and utilities. The park district anticipates that even with new revenue the building will bring in, the facility will still require $1.4 million of additional funding to operate. That is where the levy comes in.

The levy will raise around $1.1 million in the first year. The park district has been setting funding aside from its operation reserve fund to help with the $300,000 deficit, said Hammer. The Cascades Swim Center will also reduce its hours regardless of whether the levy passes or not, which will also help fill in the gap.

“I anticipate the community is going to want to use the more robust amenities at the new recreation facility,” said Hammer. “Even if we tried to leave it open, the attendance wouldn’t justify leaving it open. We still think it will be used in the morning for, like, lap swim. It’ll still be used for schools. I just don’t know if our community will want to use both of them to their capacity.”

If the levy passes, it will raise taxes. It authorizes an increase of 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. For the average homeowner, that translates to $52.56 a year or $4.38 per month, said Hammer.

“The people that use our facilities have in general been supportive,” said Hammer. “We do understand that tax increases are challenging for some, but it seems like the Redmond community is supportive of recreation and they understand the need for this facility and overall (it) seems they’re excited to have the facility in operation in their community.”

The new recreation center construction is in the early stages, and the pools have been dug out. Hammer estimated building construction would start in November.

With the new center, the park district will be able to expand sports camps, cooking programs, art classes and more opportunities for families to participate in the afternoons and early evenings, she said. The park district currently partners with the senior center and the school district to use their facilities.

“If the levy doesn’t pass, we are committed to opening the new recreation center. It will potentially have some reduced programs, because we’ll have to reduce staff, but it’ll still open,” said Hammer. “The current Cascade Swim Center would close; we would use a subsidy that we utilized for that facility currently to help offset what we would need for the new facility.”

The park district has planned a future phase to build out the center already under construction, adding an outdoor playground, pickleball courts, walking path and soccer fields. Hammer doesn’t know when that will be funded, but hopes to work on it when the center’s construction is complete.

The park district has a permanent tax rate of 37 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, but has never had a local option levy.

Brewery engineer takes on incumbent councilor