Normandy Park voters, with a 65% registered voter turnout, approved Proposition No. 1 by a slim 31-vote margin. Proposition No. 1 asked voters if a Metropolitan Park District should be formed in Normandy Park for the purpose of managing and operating parks and recreation services. The final certified results have 1,429 votes (50.55%) in favor of Proposition No. 1 and 1,398 votes (49.45%) in opposition.
Final election results were not certified by the King County Canvassing Board until Tuesday, November 24th . Early election night counts had Proposition No. 1 failing by two votes and the margin grew to near 60 at one point. The ballots counted about three days after election night supported Proposition No. 1 by nearly a 2 to 1 margin, which was sufficient to pass the Proposition.
The formation of the Park District became official on November 24, 2009 after the election was certified by the Canvassing Board. The City Council, serving as the ex-officio Board of Directors of the Park District will meet on Tuesday, December 8th to begin setting up the organizational structure of the Park District. In addition to the Park District Board of Directors, a volunteer citizen Park Board will serve as an advisory body to the District Board of Directors.
Funding for the first year of operation will be challenging for the Park District since the District’s property tax levy cannot be collected until 2011. The amount of the property tax levy will be set in late 2010 following a public hearing on the proposed budget and property tax levy. The maximum allowable levy for a Metropolitan Park District is $0.75 per $1,000 Assessed Value. However, it is unlikely that the initial levy will exceed $0.45 per $1,000 AV.
Signs and mailing costs (totaling $2000) were paid for by a small group of your neighbors. Please consider helping to recover their investment.
Contributions can be mailed to:
If you have any questions, or for additional information, please contact Linda Peterson Hughes at hughesarc@comcast.net.
Paid for by: People for Parks - Prop 1, Committee for Proposition
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Normandy Park Metropolitan Park District
(Donations are not tax deductible).