Doral would like to upgrade its parks, but this will require a tax hike. In May, the city council agreed it would put the measure on the November ballot, and recently approved the language it will use to do so. The city is asking for approval to issue a bond for $150m for park renovations.
If voters approve the measure, owners of homes valued at the median price for Doral would end up paying about $131 per year more over the life of the bond, which is 30 years. Most of the funds raised by the bond issue would go to renovating Doral Central Park, an 82-acre site near the main business district. Other monies would be used for projects in other parks.
Doral was incorporated in 2003, when it had no parks. Now it has seven, but many of the improvements planned have been left undone, waiting for financing. Juan Carlos Bermudez, Doral's mayor, says there have always been big plans for Central Park, which today comprises a jogging and biking trail, trees, and a large lake, but has few amenities. Officials would like to see a waterfront promenade, two playgrounds, a skate park, a dog park, swimming pools, and a community center added, among other improvements.
Issues like this are important to all, so officials might work with a flyer printing company to create a mailer for residents, explaining the measure.
