Voters turn down ‘expansion of (Kenilworth) Park District’

Kenilworth voters were not on board with a near 70% tax increase from their local park district.

They made their statement at the polls with 61.7% of, or 762, voters saying no thank you to the increase in the district’s limiting tax rate. More than 1,300 district voters participated in the election, a 71.1% turnout.

District Executive Director Johnathan Kiwala said he was happy the Park Board asked the community.

“It’s OK. It’s the most democratic process you can go through to find out if people support something,” he said of the referendum. “This is really the test. Do they want it or do they not; they showed by vote they do not. That’s their prerogative and their money.”

The tax increase, which Kiwala had called “an expansion of the park district,” was specifically a bump of 0.131 percentage points on the limiting tax rate. An approved referendum would have lifted the district’s limiting tax rate to 0.321%, bringing in approximately $492,000, or 69.8%, more in property-tax revenue each year.

Leading up to Election Day, the referendum gained opposition from a resident group called Friends of Kenilworth, which sent out emails challenging the need for the increase.

With the additional funds, the park district pitched three primary projects:
• The relocation of Green Bay Trail, which at present awkwardly routes through Kenilworth’s residential streets;
• The construction of a new recreation center to replace the Village House and enable year-round programming; and
• Improvements to the athletic fields and other outdoor spaces on the north side of Townley Field

The park district’s push for the additional funding is partially informed by community feedback. In surveys about local recreation, respondents showed significant support for a rerouted Green Bay Trail (74%) and a new rec center (69%). Additionally, 72% of participants said they would support increased funding levels with 28% of that total preferring the “medium” level of funding — the level chosen by the district for the referendum — out of five options, including no funding and no opinion.

Kiwala said it is too soon to know if and when the park will take on those projects, and in the meantime, he and his team will focus on the district’s current programming.

“I don’t think there are any specific backup plans at this time,” he said, adding that the Park Board will frontline those conversations. “It’s important to regroup to find out what the next priorities are for the park district.

“From my perspective, we will look to improve upon current operations. … What our staff’s focus is is improving upon making those events and programs better.”

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