Get ready for Round 2.
Litchfield School Board last week set a May referendum for a $13.99 million bond that would fund construction of a portion of the proposed Litchfield Area Recreation Center.
It will be the district’s second bond referendum attempt after voters rejected a similar question in November.
“Leaders in our community have worked hard on these proposals for many years,” school board chairman Alex Carlson said. “The school district’s portion of the LARC will greatly enhance the opportunities this facility will provide for all community members and will benefit the Litchfield area for decades to come.”
The board’s unanimous approval at its Feb. 13 meeting set the referendum for Tuesday, May 9.
“We feel energy in our community for the amenities and activities the Litchfield Area Recreation Center would provide,” Superintendent Beckie Simenson said. “We are ready to continue engaging with the community about the resources our proposal would bring to the project, for our students and residents.”
The referendum continues a collaborative effort between Litchfield Public Schools and City of Litchfield to construct a wellness and recreation center adjacent to the middle school-high school complex.
The school district’s share of the Litchfield Area Recreation Center, or LARC, includes an eight-lane pool, locker rooms, office and community space, in addition to other outdoor site improvements near the middle school-high school complex, including eight new tennis courts, two new baseball fields, parking lots, relocation of existing field stations at the high school track, and other site development work.
While district residents rejected Litchfield Public Schools’ $13.545 million bond during November’s referendum, residents of the city of Litchfield approved — on a 1,431 to 1,139 vote — a local option sales tax aimed at providing funding for the city’s portion of the proposed $27.2 million project.
Litchfield city administration has begun work on the half-cent sales tax, and it is projected to go into effect in July.
In addition to the half-cent sales tax, the city received a $5 million state grant to fund its portion of the recreation center, which will include a four-section fieldhouse that will be useable for a wide range of activities, from basketball to tennis and pickleball, and elevated walking track. Another 18% of the facility’s total cost is expected to be covered by the state’s A2School tax credit program, according to the school district.
City and school officials want the LARC to move ahead as a joint project, but district voters’ rejection of the initial bond request threw a wrench into those plans. While the city continues planning for the fieldhouse, the swimming pool and other amenities remain in question until funding can be secured.
The November vote was close — failing by just 174 votes, 2,578 “no” to 2,404 “yes” — but funding won’t come without a successful referendum. The referendum drew strong support from within the city of Litchfield, passing in all of five precincts (by a 301-vote margin), but it was rejected in the other 10 precincts throughout the district, where it fell by a nearly 62% to 38% margin.
Immediately after that defeat, however, school officials left little doubt they intended to try again. Simenson told a teacher assembly about a week after the November vote that the bond question would go back before the voters, and during a school board meeting the following week said even though the bond “narrowly missed” the district’s goal remained building and operating a high-quality facility that can be used by all residents.
Rising costs have increased the ask of the next referendum, rising from $13,545 million in November to $13.99 million for the May vote. However, Simenson told the school board last week that rising home values are projected to mean the tax impact on the average homeowner will actually be slightly less than the November projection — about $6 a month, rather than $6.84 a month.
