COUNCIL TO CONSIDER TAX BOND FOR PARKS.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The City Council will consider establishing a special tax bond to fund the creation of new parks and open space in Santa Clarita.

The city's Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission this week unanimously endorsed the measure, which would charge property owners an annual parcel tax to fund the purchase, construction and operation of park facilities throughout Santa Clarita.

``The time is ripe,'' said Commissioner Laura Hauser. ``We have a window of opportunity, and I don't want to lose it.''

If supported by the City Council and approved by two-thirds of Santa Clarita voters, property owners would pay a special Mello-Roos tax in addition to their annual property taxes to build and maintain tot lots, ball fields and swimming pools, said Finance Director Steve Stark.

The five commissioners also recommended that the City Council poll residents to find out what projects and programs they want to see funded with money raised by a special tax bond.

``We all know what we want, and the City Council members know what they want, but we're only 10 people who will be paying for it,'' said Commissioner Laurie Ender. ``Once we develop a specific, detailed plan, people will step up to the plate.''

If property owners were charged $30 a year, the bond could raise about $2 million, and allow the city to borrow 10 times that amount, Stark said.

Although Santa Clarita has built more than a dozen new parks in recent years, the city is still short nearly 250 acres of parkland, according to Parks Director Rick Gould. The commission agreed that the growing population of the Santa Clarita Valley - expected to double during the next two decades - and the dwindling amount of city resources demands action.

``If this is the situation we're in now, where are we going to be in 10 years?'' said Commission Chairwoman Karin Nelson. ``It's time to quit talking about it and start the wheels rolling.''

In city surveys, the dwindling amount of pristine land is listed among the biggest threats to the quality of life in the Santa Clarita Valley, and city officials get daily demands for more parks facilities, Gould said.

However, Santa Clarita can no longer afford to continue to build new parks facilities, because of declining revenues and an ambitious capital improvement plan that drained the city's reserves in the late 1990s, officials said.

In fact, the city will have to struggle to find the funds needed to operate and maintain existing park facilities, Stark said.

For example, it will cost the city nearly $1 million a year to operate the city's state-of-the-art Aquatics Center in Canyon Country - and another $200,000 to maintain several other new parks, Stark said.

The state budget deficit, estimated at $35 billion, threatens to create an $11 million gap in the city's 2003-04 budget.

``A bond could solve the shortage of capital dollars and operating and maintenance dollars we are facing,'' Stark said.

Because of the uncertainty created by the state budget deficit, Santa Clarita leaders have been reluctant to take on new projects, worried that money promised by state officials may evaporate in the face of continuing deficits, Stark said.

``A bond could reduce that wariness,'' Stark said.

City Manager Ken Pulskamp recommended a special tax bond over two other financing methods, saying it would give the city a great deal of flexibility in creating the boundaries of the assessment district and the ability to spend the bond money on various programs and projects.

Pulskamp made his recommendation at the request of Councilman Frank Ferry, who appointed Ender to the commission earlier this year because of her work on two multimillion-dollar school bond measures.

The commission also encouraged Gould to explore the possibility of including unincorporated areas such as Stevenson Ranch and Castaic in the assessment district, and allow those residents to use the facilities paid for by the bond.

Creating a joint agency with Los Angeles County would be difficult and require a good deal of cooperation and coordination, Stark said.