Powell wants money to bolster pool endowment

Despite continuing doubts about whether it’s the best time to ask voters for a new 1 cent sales tax, Park County leaders are continuing to move forward with the idea.

Officials from the Park County government, City of Powell, City of Cody and Town of Meeteetse decided Thursday to put together a possible specific purpose tax that would total no more than $15 million. Barring a dramatic decline in sales tax collections, that figure would allow the extra 1 cent of tax to end well before the 2020 election, when another batch of projects could be pursued.

The officials had preferred to pursue a general purpose tax, which would have simply lasted for four years and could effectively be used at the governments’ discretion. However, voters who responded to a spring survey indicated they would prefer a specific purpose tax — which can only be used for a predetermined list of projects for a specific amount of money.

Some 52 percent of the 2,100 residents who weighed in said they’d definitely or probably support a specific purpose tax, while 39 percent said they definitely or probably wouldn’t. (They split 48-48 on the prospect of a general purpose tax.) However, a consultant warned that the survey likely overstated support for a tax by at least 4 percentage points — and possibly by as much as 8 to 10 percent.

“If we held it (the election) today, I think it probably loses,” George K. Baum Senior Vice President Paul Hanley said of a tax in May.

The gathered local government officials expressed plenty of their own doubts about whether to move forward last week.

Powell Mayor Don Hillman said the city’s leadership had been united behind the idea of seeking a general purpose tax, but were uncertain about switching focus to a specific purpose tax.

“A lot of people (in the public) tell me that basically what we’re doing is just playing games with the survey,” Hillman said, adding, “I’m even getting mixed reviews from some of my councilmen, who feel the same way.”

Beyond those concerns, Hillman also said that “we don’t have any project that’s really critical.”

Meanwhile, Park County Commissioner Joe Tilden — who’s described the local governments as “poor and getting poorer” — said the county’s budget actually turned out to be better than expected this year.

“The chances of success are very slim, marginal,” Tilden said of getting a new tax, asking, “So are we hurting our chances, say, three years from now to come back and really pass a meaningful tax?”

At one point, county commission candidate Jake Fulkerson spoke from the audience to tell the assembled officials he wasn’t getting the feeling they were united — something the survey consultant said was important to passing a tax.

“As the public, I would be confused over what the leadership at the table wants to happen,” Fulkerson said.

The group did reach a consensus to keep developing a tax proposal to present to their councils and the county commission; those full governing bodies will decide whether to go to voters with a tax request in November’s general election.

A project list drafted on Thursday — which will almost certainly change — totaled $16.2 million. It included:

To trim the total package back to $15 million or less, it was specifically suggested that Powell should take less money.

“If anybody sharpens the pencil, it needs to be Powell,” said County Commissioner Loren Grosskopf.

Powell received the lion’s share of the specific purpose tax passed by voters in 2006  — $9 million of $13.2 million — to build and support the Powell Aquatic Center. Cody Mayor Nancy Tia Brown said there was an understanding that the Cody community’s support of the tax was “goodwill in the bank” and that the next time a tax was proposed, “perhaps Powell would not take as much money.”

Hillman agreed, adding, “that feeling is still there.”

The Powell mayor suggested the city could take a smaller share and use it to boost the endowment for the Powell Aquatic Center. Hillman said closing the pool’s operating deficit — which drains between $250,000 and $300,000 from the general budget each year — is Powell’s most critical need.

The 2006 tax created a $2 million endowment for the aquatic center, but low interest rates have meant that the fund has brought in much less revenue than expected; adding perhaps another $2 million to the endowment could help make the pool more sustainable, Hillman said.

However, it’s not clear whether state law would allow a specific purpose tax to be used for Powell’s endowment.

Further, the survey results indicated that voters aren’t particularly interested in that kind of a thing: only 16 to 17 percent of locals rated recreation-related projects and endowments as a high or medium-high priority; more than two times as many people pegged those items as low priorities.

Commissioner Bucky Hall said he felt Powell’s pain about the pool’s losses, but “I think that might be a killer for the cap (specific purpose) tax, to be honest with you,” he said. Commissioner Tilden later echoed that view and Mayor Brown offered that, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Hillman said the city can propose a rebuild of Absaroka Street, though “I don’t know if I can sell that or not,” he said.

The mayor said people keep asking why that project and a rebuild of Division Street can’t wait until better times and “I don’t have an answer for that other than it’s like when we did our downtown beautification.

“That was a project that didn’t have to be done, but it was, and it turned out nice,” Hillman said.

City staff have pegged Absaroka Street — which is a major north-south thoroughfare — as a relatively high priority; survey respondents also viewed it as more important than other Powell projects on the survey. Around 30 percent of respondents rated Absaroka Street as a high or medium-high priority — a few points higher than possible upgrades to Division Street, Avenues A, B, C and D and Seventh Street.

“If you’ve ever driven that (Absaroka Street) with a wide pick-up ... there’s some real issues there,” said Powell City Administrator Zane Logan.

The city is going to look at ways that the project’s cost could be pared back.

Hillman plans to discuss the specific purpose tax with the full Powell City Council at tonight’s (Tuesday) meeting. The group of officials working on the tax proposal, meanwhile, will meet again on Thursday afternoon.