It's Millage Time for Anchor Bay Aquatic Center

It’s sink or swim time for the , as the Anchor Bay School District is asking voters to help keep the facility afloat.

The public will get its chance to decide the center’s fate in a special election to be held May 8, with a three-year, half-mill levy on the ballot.

The exact wording of the ballot is as follows:

"MILLAGE PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE FUNDS TO OPERATE A SYSTEM OF PUBLIC RECREATION AND PLAYGROUNDS.

"Shall the limitation on the amount of taxes which may be assessed against all property in the Anchor Bay School District be increased by and the Board of Education be authorized to levy not to exceed .5 mill for a period of 3 years, 2012, 2013, and 2014, inclusive, for the purpose of providing funds for operating a system of public recreation and playgrounds?"

The district has taken a hit in recent years due to state budget cuts, including layoffs, pay cuts and benefits reductions. As things are, the Board of Education has made a statement that it is “impossible for the district to continue to pay to operate the Aquatic Center as a community center using school dollars."

To drive home the point of how tight things are these days, in February Board Treasurer Janine Accivatti-Hendershot said Anchor Bay Schools gets the a district can get in Michigan. .

When voters OK’d a bond issue in 1993 to build the center, district officials stress that measure was purely for the construction of the facility, and not for its operating costs.

The tax will cost an estimated $30 each year for homeowners—or less than $3 a month for the average home valued at less than $140,000—for 2012, 2013 and 2014. After that, the community would have to vote to renew or let the tax expire.

The tax would bring in approximately $518,000 the first year. Cost to run the center—including supplies, wages, utilities and maintenance—runs about $430,000 annually, according to District Business Director Kyle Anderson.

Simply put, the monthly cost to homeowners would run about the same as a gourmet cup of java, but the district sees the center as infinitely more valuable, since a good school district and good resources are important to the life of a community, helping to draw more families and businesses.

The center is currently used for school programs and community recreation, including swimming lessons; exercise and recreation for families, adults and seniors; therapy for disabled and injured persons; swim teams; and community rentals.

That will likely change if the millage is not passed. If voters reject the tax increase, the district will look for ways to cut operating costs, which could include limiting public access to the center. 

The goal is self-sufficiency for the center, so school monies go toward school programs, and the millage can help the district to keep operating the center for the community to make use of. If passed the multi-purpose room may be converted into a exercise room for all ages to utilize.

The district has in recent weeks shared that it “plans additional water aerobics, low impact training, water fitness and water safety classes for all ages. The aquatic center will provide child care services to residents who use the cardio fitness/exercise room or pool, and discounted rates will be offered to parents, senior citizens and area residents." It may also be used for the high school theater, but an independent certified public accounting firm will conduct an audit first.

For more information visit the Anchor Bay Schools website at www.anchorbay.misd.net.