Holly Springs voters to decide on $100M parks bond in November. Here’s a look.
This November, Holly Springs residents will see a bond referendum on their ballot that could help build a park across from Holly Springs High School.
If voters back the $100 million bond, the town will move forward on the 56-acre Cass Holt Road Park, among other projects.
The bond comes after a community survey asked residents for their priorities. More parks and greenways topped the list, according to the town.
The Holly Springs Town Council agreed Tuesday to begin the bond process and roll out more information soon.
What’s included in the bond?
The Cass Holt Road Park has been in the works for years and in 2021, residents got a first look at what could be in it.
The park is projected to cost about $63 million. Wake County recently approved $2.3 million for the recreation center, which would have meeting rooms for programs and community rentals.
The park site is located west of N.C. 55 and will include:
a four-court gymnasium for basketball, pickleball, volleyball and more
an indoor track with training features like hills, ramps and stairs
an E-sports and technology lounge
an indoor playground
a café with unique seating areas
fitness equipment and group exercise space
an interactive splash pad
a skatepark
lighted pickleball and basketball courts
lighted turf fields
paved, loop trails and greenways
LeeAnn Plummer, the town’s parks and recreation director, said Cass Holt Road Park would be the town’s first community park.
On April 27, the town will hold a virtual public hearing about the design of the skatepark, which many residents said they wanted.
Other projects that would get a boost from the bond include enhancements to Womble Park with a new outdoor basketball court and dugout replacements; a pavilion at Sugg Farm at Bass Lake Park; theater seat replacement at the town’s Cultural Center, and improvements to existing greenways.
In 2011, voters approved a $20 million parks and recreation bond that helped pay for:
Bass Lake Pedestrian Bridge
Carl Dean Greenway
Jones Park Playground and Disc Golf
Sugg Farm purchase and concept plan
Ting Park Multi-purpose field & tennis courts
Womble Park improvements
Potential impact on property taxes
If approved, the bond could increase the town property tax rate by a few dollars per year for the life of a bond. Just how much is not clear yet, according to Trina Stroupe, the town’s finance director.
On May 16, “we will know more details about how we intend to issue the bonds with a clearer picture of potential property tax rate implications for Holly Springs,” Stroupe told The News & Observer.
The median home price in Holly Springs is about $385,000, according to the 2020 Census.
Jack Turnwald, a Holly Springs resident who uses they/them pronouns, said they question the bond and its potential impact on the cost of living in the town, even if the amenities do sound enticing.
“When I’m thinking about the bond, I’m thinking about it really in context to the fact that (the council) ordered an affordable housing study here,” Turnwald said. “When you look at the study, it tells us we have gaps in a lot of areas including being able to age in place, having substantial rental units.”
If the parks bond is approved and the property tax rate is increased, Turnwald wonders how it will affect “growing families, middle-income families, aging folks on a fixed income.”
“I think, can our firefighters, our teachers, our hospital employees afford to actually live in this town?” they said. “This is a particularly large bond. I think there are a lot of really good tings in it, I question whether all of those things need to be wrapped in one large package at this time.”
Holly Springs’ municipal election is Nov, 7.
