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Let voters decide whether isthmus park is worth it

The Olympian • Published March 10, 2009

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We now know that it will cost between $28 million and $32 million to convert the downtown Olympia isthmus into a park. Let the people of Olympia decide whether that grand vision to protect the views along the waterfront is worth an increase in their property taxes.

City Manager Steve Hall said a $28 million bond spread over a 20-year period would cost Olympia taxpayers an additional 35.74 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation per year. That would be an additional $89.35 a year for 20 years on a $250,000 home.

The Olympia City Council should put a bond issue on the Aug. 18 primary election ballot and let the voters decide this controversial issue.

Yes, the nation, state and community are in the throes of a recession. And yes, voters recently turned down a library levy that was less money. But voters may well be willing to cough up an additional $89.35 per year to preserve the isthmus that separates downtown and west Olympia.

The Isthmus Park Association has claimed that a majority of Olympia citizens support the park plan. They base their assumption on the number of people who have offered public testimony and the fact that 3,849 voters signed a petition calling for a park feasibility study. In fact, some supporters have claimed that upwards of 80 percent of Olympia residents support the isthmus park proposal. If that's the case, supporters should have no problem getting a majority vote on a local bond issue to cover the costs.

State involvement

One unanswered question is whether the state is willing to pony up some of the money to build a park on the northern shore of Capitol Lake. That seems unlikely given the fact that lawmakers are facing an $8 billion budget deficit. But that hasn't stopped lawmakers from meddling in the city's business.

On a vote of 36-10, the state Senate last week voted to override the Olympia City Council by imposing a 35-foot building height limit on the isthmus between the lake and the southern tip of Puget Sound. The bill, if passed by the House, would overrule the council's rezone vote that allows buildings of up to 90 feet along a panoramic corridor visible from the Capitol to Budd Inlet and the Olympic Mountains.