As construction begins on a new recreation center in Redmond, voters will have another chance to fund operations of the new facility.

On the November ballot, voters in the Redmond Area Parks and Recreation District will be asked to pass a 5-year operations levy at a cost of 21 cents per $1,000 of assessed property.

The rate is reduced from the 24 cents per $1,000 of assessed value that voters rejected in November 2022 — the same election in which voters approved the bond to build the new $49 million facility.

Now that construction the project has begun, RAPRD is looking again at how to staff and operate the facility that is scheduled to open in early 2026.

Katie Hammer, executive director of Redmond Area Parks and Rec, estimates the levy will bring in about $1.2 million per year. That, she said, would allow the district to operate the new facility seven days a week, likely from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.

If passed, levy dollars would start to arrive in district coffers in November 2025. According to Hammer, that would allow RAPRD to add six full-time staff members to their current 13 employees in time for the facility’s grand opening.

Hammer said that RAPRD plans to hire a facilities manager as well as maintenance, custodial and customer service staff in order to operate and care for the new building.

That building will be located at the intersection of 35th St. and Lava Ave. in Southwest Redmond. Dirt work has already begun at the site and pools have been blasted out of the bedrock. Hammer estimated that building permits could be approved by next week, allowing vertical construction to begin in earnest.

If the levy doesn’t pass in November, Hammer said the district would consider running it again on the May 2025 ballot. However, she said that board members felt the high turnout November general election would be their chances at finding voter support.

If the levy does not pass by the opening of the new facility, Hammer said the district would likely have to reduce hours and staff. She said RAPRD would also likely close the Cascade Swim Center, Redmond’s only current public pool. Opened in 1979, the district has leased the swim center through 2028. It’s future beyond 2028 is in doubt, and Hammer said it would likely close earlier that if the levy fails.

“We obviously want to focus our time and resources on the new facility as much as we can,” said Hammer.

People outside of Redmond city limits are able to vote in RAPRD elections. The district runs roughly from Tumalo to Crooked River Ranch and includes all of Eagle Crest.

The recreation district is not the only one with an ask on the November ballot. The Redmond School District will also be floating a levy in November in order to keep its current tax rates in place.