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RECOUNT: $4M parks question back in limbo
by Gregory R. Norfleet · News · November 19, 2015


A West Branch resident hopes to overturn the $4 million parks vote through a recount.


Richard “Dick” Stoolman, former longtime West Branch fire chief, circulated a petition to call for a recount and turned it in Nov. 12 to the Cedar County Auditor’s Office.

The Cedar County Board of Supervisors officially accepted Stoolman’s petition Nov. 17, and Auditor Cari Gritton scheduled the recount for 10 a.m. Friday in the basement meeting room of the courthouse.

Stoolman said he is concerned with how long it will take to pay off the $4 million loan.

“There’s a lot of questions,” he said. “Like, where will they get the money to put that (recreation/community center) building out there? It could be another $3 million or $4 million. All this (current vote) does is move dirt and put up a couple shelters.”

Stoolman will serve as one member of the recount board, and Gritton appointed Cedar County Treasurer Gary Jedlicka as an independent member of the board. Gritton said Stoolman and Jedlicka will need to appoint the third member. After that, she will help set a time and date to recount the 403 ballots cast for the parks measure.

Stoolman said he has spoken to other residents about the referendum question and found that “older people are definitely against it.”

He said he does not have an alternative idea, like a lower dollar amount for the referendum.

The $4 million referendum initially failed at the end of the day of the general election, Nov. 3, garnering 59.95 percent support when it needed more than 60 percent. The actual vote count was 241-161.

However, a provisional ballot was cast and, once the voter’s address was verified, accepted, and that additional “yes” vote pushed the support to 60.0496 percent. That bumped the actual vote to 242-161.

Should the recount take away just one vote, the referendum will fail.

City Administrator Matt Muckler sent a memo to City Council members, and posted it to the city’s Web site (westbranchiowa.org), saying the city received notice Nov. 12 of the petition and that the recount needs to take place before Saturday, Nov. 28.

The city said in advance of the vote that it will pay off the $4 million through a 1-percent Local Option Sales Tax and revenues from the Tax Increment Financing district.

A pamphlet mailed to residents provided a list of projects it expects to cover with successful passage of the $4 million measure:

• Pedersen Valley: One adult and two little league baseball fields with bleachers, concession stand with restrooms, playground with equipment, creek restoration with native plantings, stormwater retention basin to reduce excess water runoff, and a trail system to connect the new amenities to the community

• Lions Field: Improved fields, a permanent restroom and a new sidewalk

• Wapsi Creek Park: Restroom and shelter facility, playground with equipment and parking for the Hoover Nature Trail

• Beranek Park: Updated lighting for better night use.

Also, the city already built two new sand volleyball courts at Beranek. The $4 million question was voted down a year ago, in the same election that approved the Local Option Sales Tax. The city decided to spend the LOST revenues directly on the parks until the second try on the bond referendum.

The city emphasized in its information to voters that the $4 million loan would not increase property taxes since LOST is a sales tax and the TIF revenues would come from what is already being collected.