HOOD RIVER — The Hood River City Council was approached by the Parks and Recreation District, who is seeking their support in increasing property tax rates for the local parks district. To do this, they must dissolve the current parks and rec district and form a new district. Current tax limits, set in the late 1990s, were set to maintain the basic pool only. The current tax rate is $0.34 per $1,000 of assessed value, which is among the lowest in Oregon. As the Parks District faces a failing pool and continued program expansion, they will be asking for a new rate limit of $1.24 per $1,000 of assessed value.

This decision has been in the works for more than five years. After a study revealing that the pool is in need of major repairs or replacement, and two public outreach efforts, the board of directors decided unanimously to ask residents to dissolve the district and form a new one at an increased tax rate. The department is working on a resolution to hopefully approve the county’s “Order of Formation” so the county commission can move forward with placing the “Order” on the ballot for voter consideration, but the city council and City Attorney Dan Kearns would like to see improvement in the resolution’s language.