City should solve parks problem with tax

To the Editor:

I think the answer to the budget problems that the city has blamed on the parks department and the golf course could be solved by adding another quarter cent to the parks department tax.

That should generate another seven hundred thousand dollars, which would fund the golf course and get it back into good shape with about 400 thousand left over to build and operate the splash pad and bike trails.

The splash pad could be built closer to the ball fields to use the existing parking areas and the bike and walking trails could be built on the old city golf course next to the ball fields to make better use of that land.

All the people on both sides of the budget issue would get what they wanted. We would get another small tax but it would go directly to the parks department and would benefit the people instead of going into the city's general fund.

That is a tax that I think we could get behind and support. That along with closing some of the least used parks and closing Walker park to vehicle traffic would leave us with a much better park system that can truly be used by all the people.

Larry Hill

Blytheville