CLATSKANIE, The Clatskanie Park and Recreation District runs its park and pool on a tax rate set in 1960: 34.83 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Measure 5-315 asks voters to add 10 cents for five years, about $40 a year on a home assessed at $400,000, to keep the pool open seven days a week and the park maintained year-round.
Nobody filed an argument for or against it. Here is what the district says, from its notice of measure election and the voters’ pamphlet.
What It Does
The levy would run five years starting in 2027-28 and raise an estimated $111,490 the first year and $603,865 in all. The money would go to daily park maintenance, repairs to aging infrastructure including the swimming pool, and park and pool staffing. The district says that without it, its ability to keep the pool and park buildings staffed and equipped “could be in jeopardy.”
What the District Says It Needs
The explanatory statement, submitted by board director Glenn Raschke, lays out the staffing gap. The district employs two part-time maintenance workers from April through September and one from October through March, for a park that needs upkeep all year. To run the pool seven days a week with lessons, exercise classes and open swims, it says the right number is 20 to 22 lifeguards plus a manager and assistant manager, and the current budget cannot pay competitive wages for that many while also covering park maintenance.
The statement calls the 1960 permanent rate “no longer adequate to fund staffing, maintenance, and aging-infrastructure needs” and describes the park as the “Jewel of Our Town.”
What It Costs
Ten cents per $1,000 of assessed value: $40 a year on a $400,000 assessed home, or $3.33 a month on a mortgage payment, per the pamphlet. Assessed value is the figure on your county tax statement. The ballot title carries the standard warning that the measure may cause property taxes to increase more than 3 percent, and the district notes its revenue figures are estimates that may be affected by early payment discounts, compression and the collection rate.
What Happens Next
Ballots were mailed Oct. 14 and are due Nov. 3. The levy would first appear on tax statements in fall 2027. The district’s contact for the measure is Andrew Mustola, board chair, 503-505-2097, or by mail at P.O. Box 737, Clatskanie, OR 97016.