Rosemount voters to kids: play in the street

Star Tribune Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:59:53 GMT
Rosemount voters deny funds for athletic fields

A big majority rejected a proposal to raise taxes for a sports complex and an arts center. Rosemount kids playing softball and soccer on overcrowded fields will have to make do, voters decided Tuesday. By more than a 2-to-1 margin, voters rejected an $8 million bond referendum for a new athletic complex northeast of downtown Rosemount, as well as upgrades to an old Catholic church where many residents hope to see an arts center someday. Roughly 25 percent of the city's 11,000 registered voters cast ballots on Tuesday, with about 70 percent opposed to raising taxes for the projects. But that doesn't mean plans are necessarily out the window, Mayor Bill Droste said Tuesday night. "The land is still there," he said, referring to 57 acres that Flint Hills Resources donated for the athletic complex. "It's just very expensive to build ballfields," he said. "... With the economy being very soft, we should probably just look at various options" for moving forward after the vote.

[[keywords: Parks;Living;Metro;]]