SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — A $66 million bond measure set to appear on the November 5 ballot could bring significant improvements to the town of Sahuarita, including a new multi-generational recreation center and various facility upgrades.
The bond measure will appear as Proposition 403 on the ballot.
The town has released detailed renderings of the proposed recreation center, which will include a variety of amenities designed to serve residents of all ages.
Devin Stalder, Director of Sahuarita Parks & Recreation, emphasized the inclusive nature of the project.
“We know that there are amenities that exist within the HOAs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s access for everybody,” Stalder said. “This is a project for the town of Sahuarita so it’s our community as a whole.”
The center is planned to feature indoor aquatic facilities, basketball courts, fitness studios, childcare services, and a multipurpose room available for community events and rentals.
The bond also funds the development of a sports complex at North Santa Cruz Park. The sports complex is set to include pickleball and racquetball courts, offering residents more options for outdoor activities.
In addition to the recreation center and sports complex, Prop 403 will pay for several critical infrastructure projects.
These include expansions of Town Hall and the Sahuarita Police Department, trails development, improvements to Anamax Park and a new public works building, which is currently housed inside Sahuarita Town Hall.
The assortment of projects funded by the measure was determined through community outreach over the past year.
“There was a statistically valid survey that covered the needs for the community on the recreation side,” Stalder said. “We prioritized our project selection on those findings.”
It will also feature a pit for gaga ball, a hybrid of dodgeball and soccer that has become popular with young people.
If approved, the timeline for the recreation center’s construction is estimated to span three years.
Sahuarita Mayor Tom Murphy says that the bond will enable the town to move quickly on adding new amenities rather than waiting years, or even decades, for these facilities to be built.
“This would be the first opportunity that we’ve ever attempted to have a secondary property tax for amenities for the benefit of the residents,” he said. “Initially you hear that there’s another tax, but we look at it differently, that it’s an investment in ourselves and our residents.”
Murphy pointed out that, as Sahuarita grows quickly, there’s an urgent need to increase the amount of amenities. He says that new residents will “contribute to the payback of these amenities that the people living here currently get to enjoy.”
To fund the bond, Sahuarita residents would incur an estimated cost of $17 per month, based on the median home price of $232,000 in the area.
“When we did our survey, one of the things we looked at was where was the comfort level from zero dollars a month to up to 40ish dollars a month,” Murphy said. “Around twenty dollars to thirty dollars was the sweet spot.
Murphy emphasized that the tax would be based on assessed value rather than appraised value, which is typically higher.
On Monday, August 26, the Town Council meeting will present the renderings of the proposed multi-generational rec center, along with results of a feasibility study related to the center.
Residents interested in learning more about the bond measure and the proposed projects can find additional information at the Town of Sahuarita’s 2024 bond website.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
