“SHALL the City Council of the City of Amarillo, Texas, be authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the City in the principal amount of $22,250,000 for permanent public improvements and public purposes, to wit:  acquiring, constructing, improving, expanding, renovating and equipping neighborhood park and recreation facilities of the City and the acquisition of land therefor; such bonds to mature serially or otherwise over a period not to exceed twenty-five (25) years from their date, to be issued and sold in one or more series at any price or prices and to bear interest at any rate or rates (fixed, floating, variable or otherwise) as shall be determined within the discretion of the City Council at the time of issuance or sale of the bonds; and whether ad valorem taxes shall be levied upon all taxable property in the City sufficient to pay the annual interest and provide a sinking fund to pay the bonds at maturity?”

* Proposition 4 on the Nov. 8 Amarillo municipal ballot

It’s called “quality of life.”

The term usually describes occasionally hard-to-define public infrastructure needs.

Although communities do not require parks, or recreational venues to function, residents become used to having them available and being able to use them whenever they wish.

Amarillo voters are going to decide this November whether to spend nearly $22.3 million to improve parks and recreation infrastructure throughout the city.

Is this one worth supporting? I believe it is.

The city is putting seven propositions on the ballot. This is the second in a series of commentaries I’d like to offer on the propositions.

The largest single expenditure will occur with construction of a recreation center in the North Heights neighborhood. The city has identified that center as a major need in a neighborhood where residents occasionally have expressed the belief that City Hall doesn’t care as much about them as it does about residents in other parts of the city.

The list of all the projects can be found on the link here:

http://amarillo.gov/pdf/CIP_list_for_ballot_resolution.pdf

Parks matter for a city’s quality of life. Amarillo has a population now of about 200,000 residents. We have enjoyed steady, moderate growth for decades. New residents are still coming to Amarillo to take jobs, to build lives for themselves and their families and to enjoy the amenities the city has to offer.

We don’t cry out for good parks and recreational opportunities the way we do, say, for police officers to respond quickly or for firefighters to arrive immediately to protect us.

If we’re going to let parks go to seed, or not support the community centers that become the lifeblood of neighborhoods, then ponder this: What would Amarillo be like without any of them?

We might not always be able to define issues that give us a good “quality of life,” but most of us know when those things aren’t available for us to enjoy.