Voters in the Charlotte Public Schools district will decide Tuesday, March 8 whether or not to renew the .5 mill Recreation and Playground millage established in 2011. The proposal that will appear on the March 8 ballot asks voters to approve a renewal for six years.
The Recreation and Playground millage costs approximately $25 annually for an owner of a home with a market value of $100,000 and a taxable value of $50,000. It generates approximately $270,000 annually, of which 67 percent is used to cover the cost of public use of the Charlotte Aquatic Center. The remaining 33 percent helps cover costs associated with field and gymnasium maintenance, rental subsidies for community organizations, facility upgrades and youth recreation programs.
Dan Christian, director of the Charlotte Aquatic Center since the spring of 2013, said community use of the facility has steadily increased over the course of the past two years. Swim lesson participation has grown to include 735 individuals this year alone, Christian said. That compares to 410 participants in 2013 and 620 last year. Memberships have also grown in the past two years. In 2013 the Charlotte Aquatic Center had 324 members as compared to 470 members as of November of 2015.
Christian said he’s really excited about the growth of the Tiger Sharks program and the introduction of the Charlotte High School varsity swim teams.
“We have the first two boys in school history that qualified for the state championships this year,” Christian said. “It’s helped build more of a community atmosphere here and you can see the excitement in the younger kids.”
Charlotte Public Schools officials have said if the millage does not pass, the board of education may be facing some difficult decisions as to the Aquatic Center’s future.
“There are very few, if any, aquatic centers like ours that are fully self sufficient if they are accounting for all expenses similar to what we do in an effort to be as transparent as possible,” stated Michelle Sine, director of business services. “Simply, the overhead from utilities is significant. These pumps and circulators are running 24/7/365 regardless of whether the facility is being used or not.”
Sine said, in order to make up for the millage contribution to the Aquatic Center, which was $182,193 in the 2014-15 school year, the Aquatic Center would have to generate 600 additional adult memberships or have an additional 45,000 open swim visits per year.
In terms of facility rental, the current millage allows the district to reduce its rental fee rates by 50 percent. Community organizations are charged $5 per hour to rent a ball field and $12.50 per hour for gym rental. Sine said the board would have to vote how to proceed with rental fees if the millage does not pass.
For more information or ballot language, visit www.charlottenet.org.
