Goodyear is having a special bond election. Here's what will be on the ballot
Goodyear is getting ready to send out its first bond request in nearly 20 years in November. While Election Day is Nov. 7, the last day to register to vote is Oct. 10, with ballots being mailed Oct. 11.
Late last year, Goodyear announced it would be forming a citizen bond committee, made up 11 residents and business owners to guide the direction of the bonds. The quickly growing city is technically asking for bonding authority, Goodyear Councilmember Bill Stipp said.
"You're asking for the authority to go out and buy up to that amount of money for those bonds," Stipp said. That means that the city won't acquire the money right away; it will acquire the money on a project-by-project basis as they come up.
There will be three bonds on the ballot: one for transportation, one for public safety and one for parks and recreation. And they will be three separate questions on the ballot, meaning residents don't have to vote for all three.
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The bond committee spent months working on the bonds, Stipp said. While they may have taken some input from city staff in terms of Goodyear's needs, the citizen group decided what the priorities should be in the bond election, with the City Council supporting that, Stipp said.
If the bonds aren't passed, Stipp said the projects could be funded in alternative ways but that would likely take longer. Because the projects are quite expensive, it would likely take years to accumulate the money.
What bonds will be on the Goodyear ballot in November?
The $135 million streets and transportation bond will design and improve streets within the city, as well as intersections, traffic signals, streetlights and underground utility lines. Bike lanes and paths will also be improved. While the projects will be citywide, specific ones will be determined once the city's Transportation Master Plan in finalized.
The public safety bond, which will be $80 million, will improve fire and public training facilities. It will also help to fund new vehicles and equipment for the fire and public safety departments. A public safety training facility for the police and fire departments and a fire resource management facility will both be built. While the current fire resource building is a re-purposed fire station, the new facility will protect firefighters from dangerous carcinogens.
And the $17 million parks and recreation bond will help to construct and improve parks and recreational facilities in Goodyear. It will also fund the acquisition of additional land for bike and pedestrian paths, as well as making improvements to existing paths and trails. It would extend the Bullard Wash trail system to Goodyear Ballpark, while it currently ends at McDowell Road and 150th Avenue.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Goodyear election 2023: What to know about special bond election
