ARVADA —An outdoor splash pad at the Apex Center and a new recreation center and swimming pool at Fitzmorris Park are just a few of the projects the hopes to tackle with a proposed $25 million bond package.
Eligible voters who live in the district — which covers most of Arvada and parts of Jefferson County — .
Apex executive director Lauri Dannemiller said a lot has changed since voters approved a $25 million bond in 1998.
She points to sports like rugby and lacrosse that were in their infancy in the area 20 years ago but have since grown in popularity. Girls sports and , she said, and many Apex properties are now regional destinations.
“There’s been a huge expansion in the city, especially out west,” Dannemiller said. “There’s also projects where demand has been long-standing in the community … for the last 12 years, the eastern side of the city has been underserved from a recreation perspective.”
The largest project calls for $7.4 million to be spent for a new 22,000-square-foot recreation center at the Secrest Center at 6820 W. 66th Ave. The existing swimming pool and inline hockey rink will remain, while a weight room, hydrotherapy pool and community teen center would be be added.
Jim Whitfield, Apex board vice-president, said previous bond proposals seeking to pay for specific projects have failed in part because they couldn’t get majority support from outside the neighborhood.
After voters defeated a 2004 measure to upgrade the Secrest site, Whitfield said Apex began a comprehensive study of the entire district to see what the long-term, regional needs were.
“We wanted to be as inclusive as possible and made sure this has something for everybody,” Whitfield said. “We intentionally bundled this so everybody is either for or against it.”
Other proposed features include renovation of eight outdoor courts at the Arvada Tennis Center, a new four-field softball/baseball pod complex at Lutz Sports Complex and a new swimming pool and rec center at Fitzmorris Park.
The Apex Center would see a new outdoor splash pad and plans call for $4.2 million in improvements at Long Lake Ranch Regional Park, among other additions.
Ralston Central Park resident John Kiljan said the neighborhood has been clamoring for a pool since the Fisher Pool in Fitzmorris Park near Independence Street and West 63rd Place was taken out in 2008.
“That whole area from Kipling to Wadsworth Bypass, where our neighborhood association covers, it’s the No. 1 top issue,” Kiljan said. “We’re worried about kids and what they’re going to do in the summer.”
The Arvada City Council and Mayor Marc Williams have unanimously supported the bond proposal, pledging $3.1 million to be used toward the Fitzmorris Park rec center and outdoor pool, bringing the total cost of district-wide improvements to $28.1 million.
“We’ve been talking about some of these facilities since the 1990s,” said District 2 Councilman Mark McGoff. “Apex has been doing public hearings and analysis for a few years now, and this will finally give voters a chance to decide whether or not to finance the facilities they say they want.”
Dannemiller said if the measure passes, residents wouldn’t see property taxes go up. That’s because next year, the district will finish payment on the $25 million bond taken out in 1998.
“Technically we can’t call this a renewal because we’re selling new bonds,” Dannemiller said, “but the reality is, there will be no additional taxes.”
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729 or abriggs@denverpost.com
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