The Cascade Swim Center in Redmond on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (Ryan Brennecke/Bulletin photo)

Redmond voters will be voting in the May 21 election on a new $40 million community recreation center and a levy to operate it. Voters should support it.

The community center will add many more recreational opportunities to Redmond. Chief among them is another pool. It’s hard to satisfy swimming demand with the small Cascade Swim Center. It was built in 1979, when Redmond had a population of about 6,500. The Redmond Area Park and Recreation District serves more than 40,000 people and is growing.

If the levy passes, the plan is to keep that pool for competitive swimming and fitness. A new warm-water pool at the community center will have a couple of fitness lanes, areas for play and classes. The center would have a multi-use gym with room for two full-sized basketball courts, an indoor walking track, rooms for fitness classes and more.

The cost to voters comes in two pieces. Voters will vote on a $40 million bond, which will cost $.55 per $1,000 of assessed value. That would come to $110 a year for a home assessed at $200,000. Voters will also vote on a five-year, local option levy of $.19 per $1,000. That’s to pay to operate the center. That would add another $38 a year to that same home.

Katie Hammer, executive director of the park district, told us the local option levy may not be needed in the future. As the district grows, it is likely that the district’s permanent tax levy will cover operation costs for the center.

If the bond doesn’t pass and the levy does, the district would not build the center and would try again for the bond. The levy would not be collected. If the bond passes and the levy doesn’t, it’s likely the district will try again for the levy.

In a way, these votes are about the future of Redmond and will be a measure of how much voters are committed to their community. Voting down the bond and the levy wouldn’t precipitate a disaster. It would, though, be a big deal. Redmond voters would be saying “nah” to creating a high-quality recreational experience for the community.

And with that “nah” attitude toward the community, potential residents and businesses will be saying “nah” to Redmond.