The Huntley Park District is asking voters to give their blessing to an $18 million bond sale. If it fails, district officials said, increased program fees and cuts could be coming. If it passes, it will mean a tax increase for property owners.

The park district said funds from the referendum would go toward both repairs at parks and new amenities.

The park district has different boundaries than the village of Huntley, extending through parts of Lake in the Hills and Algonquin and out toward Union. Executive Director Scott Crowe said about 48,000 people live in the district, and about 10% of its tax revenue comes from the Kane County side of the district.

Here are some things to know about what the park district is asking for and the expected influence on taxes.

How the district decided to go to voters

The park district has been working on this for a while. Crowe said the process started in 2022 with a strategic master plan. The district asked residents their priorities, and then had independent entities confirm earlier this year that the district understood those priorities, according to the park district website.

“We’ve been doing our homework in terms of getting pricing for these amenities,” Crowe said. “What does it cost to replace things? What does it cost to add new?”

He said the district did a survey this spring of people who voted in the past several presidential elections to gauge interest and got favorable feedback.

In July, the park board opted to send the referendum to the voters.

The park district has gone to referendum before. Crowe said the district asked voters for funds for the Stingray Bay Aquatic Center and to purchase Pinecrest Golf Course.

“Our district has shown a history of ... being responsible with the money, returning that tax benefit back to the constituents once it’s paid off,” Crowe said.

A referendum that would have gone to fund an indoor turf facility failed in 2014. But now district officials feel they’ve done their homework.

“We’re not just coming with our hand out,” Crowe said. “We’ve done our due diligence to make our operations efficient, to seek out other revenue and then ask the taxpayers for the rest, and based on their input.”

When will voters have their say?

Voters will be asked about the $18 million bond during the Nov. 5 general election. Crowe said it would be a 20-year bond payoff.

What happens if this passes?

If the referendum passes, the park district’s plans include repairs to several parks, a new splash pad, the installation of artificial turf at ball fields at Tomaso Park and new theater seating at the Cosman Cultural Center, among other things.

“It’s mostly repairing what we have. It’s replacing what we have,” Crowe said. “Huntley grew very quickly about 20 years ago.”

Crowe said most of the parks up for renovations are ones that the park district staff built. The park district received money or the land, or both, Crowe said.

Land acquisition is part of the referendum, and a golf entertainment center also is on the table, but details still are in the works.

The park district has pledged to seek more than $1 million in grant funding to supplement potential new tax revenue. The district has received a $500,000 Open Space Land Acquisition and Development grant for Weiss Park renovations and is seeking another OSLAD grant for work at Ol’ Timers Park near downtown.

“The park district has skin in the game, too,” Crowe said. “We’re trying to do what we can as efficiently as we can and seek out alternate funding sources as well.”

What happens if voters turn down the request?

If the referendum fails, Crowe said the park district could have to look at program fee increases. The district wouldn’t be able to offer new programming, and there could potentially be cuts to existing offerings, Crowe said.

Playgrounds could be hit hard if the referendum fails.

“Playgrounds would either be scaled back ... or we would really have to take a hard look at reducing some of the amenities at some of our parks,” Crowe said.

Program fees also could go up.

“We would have to look at some fee increases above and beyond what our normal increases are,” Crowe said. “Fees would definitely have to be looked at.”

How much will homeowners pay?

If it passes, the park district said a homeowner with a property worth $299,000 will pay an extra $71 per year. Crowe said growth could make it possible for referendum-related taxes to go down.

“We didn’t just make the number up. These are based on hard numbers based on factual things we’ve done or quotes we’ve received,” Crowe said, adding that feedback the district has gotten has been overwhelmingly positive for the referendum.

Public meeting and information

A public information meeting is planned for 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at the Cosman Cultural Center, 12015 Mill St. More information on the Huntley Park District bond sale referendum is at huntleyparks.org/plantoplay.