Vote for GO Bonds to improve parks and sports fields

To all parents, grandparents, coaches, referees and athletes registered to vote, I encourage you to vote yes in favor of “up to $16,900,000 to build park improvements, including sports fields and ‘other related facilities’, during our special election.

My introduction to the poor maintenance of our playgrounds goes back to when “playgrounds” were our home. Like many parents in our community, our evenings and weekends were spent on the ball diamonds with the ball games of our children and grandchildren. We were then told there was no money to maintain the pitches, so parents, coaches and children took over to make the pitches a safe place to play ball.

My next introduction was as Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee from 1994 to 1997. This time the overuse of ball diamonds, with 10,000 youngsters playing in the leagues, was added as another reason for poor field conditions. of ball. We needed more courts, washrooms, bleachers, etc., and “there is no funding to use the facilities.

On September 16, 2008, the Mayor and City Council approved an ad hoc committee to recommend possible funding, service, and programming strategies for long-term sports complex and grounds maintenance, operations, and needs. in capital. I sat on this ad hoc committee with Bob Ogas, Alice F. Cox, Billy Avalos, Leo Paz, Michelle Holloman, Paul Finch, Lisa Murphy and Jose Gallegos. Bob Ogas accepted the position of president. We were told that the city had grown to such an extent that this problem could no longer be ignored without consequences

After five months and many hours of discussion, on February 18, 2009, the ad hoc committee came up with a unanimous recommendation to the Municipal Council presented during a working session: “Increase the tax on gross receipts by 1/8 %, or approximately $3.1 million per year to be added to the existing parks section budget to increase service levels, upgrade existing venues, and add facilities and parks.

It didn’t happen – “this is not the right time to raise taxes”, we were told.

People – vote ‘yes’ now because if this fails, we may not have that opportunity, and we will continue to pay the consequences.

Dolores C. Archuleta is a former member of the Las Cruces City Council.