New districts for parks proposed

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002 | 9:24 a.m.

About $3.2 million set aside for new parks and park upgrades in North Las Vegas could be used throughout more of the city under a proposal to draw new park district boundaries.

The proposal was presented to the City Council on Wednesday.

Money from a residential construction tax that is dedicated for parks must be spent in the district from which it was collected. Under the current map, however, that has left almost all of the money in one of the six current districts. City officials figure they can put the money to use throughout more of the city if they reduce the number of park districts to three and redraw the boundaries.

Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said that although she supports having fewer park districts, she is concerned the proposed change could violate the intent of the special tax. If the changes were implemented, money collected from new homes could end up being spent on parks far from those homes, she said.

The council took no action Wednesday on the matter, however, because it was for information only.

The residential construction tax is a one-time fee on new construction charged at the rate of 36 cents per square foot. The money from that tax can be used to buy land for a new park, construct a new park or to pay for upgrades to existing parks, Parks and Recreation Department acting Director Jim Stritchko said.

Currently, the district that encompasses much of the southwest central part of the city has about $3.1 million in parks money to spend.

City Manager Kurt Fritsch said the problem is that "now we have one district that has 95 percent of the money."

A map presented Wednesday by Stritchko had three park districts with almost straight north-south boundary lines. Under this proposal, one district would have $1 million, the second $2 million and the third $150,000 in parks money.

This change would free up more money for park projects in the older parts of the city, which see little new construction, Stritchko said.

The city's parks and recreation advisory board supports the change to three park districts, he said.