Bryant Parks Director says A&P tax would be a ‘game changer’

The Bryant Parks Committee met on Tuesday to discuss a potential A&P tax on citizens of Bryant. The tax would be 3 percent on hotels and 2 percent on restaurants. The original proposal was for the Parks Department to receive 80 percent of revenues from the A&P tax. Parks Director Chris Treat said at the meeting on Tuesday, that he is hearing from council members that they could get behind a proposal that designates 60 percent of revenue to the parks department.

For the tax to take effect, the citizens of Bryant would have to approve the tax on a ballot initiative.

Treat presented several projects the parks department would be able to complete if an A&P tax is approved. He said if the proposal passes, the parks department would have a $3.5 million budget in 2024, nearly $1 million more than the department’s normal budget.

“We would be going into

2024 knowing our capital improvement budget instead of things we’d like to see done but we aren’t sure about. You can see how that is a game-changer for us,” said Treat.

He stressed that having the money designated to the parks department is important so they can have a master plan looking ten years in the future. If the money from the tax isn’t designated to the parks department, the city council would have to specifically designate any funding going to the parks department from the tax. The A&P tax would give the department another revenue source so they could make long-term plans.

A few of the potential projects the committee discussed were a skate park, senior center upgrades, flooring upgrades to the Boys and Girls Club and an emergency management system for the Boys and Girls Club. Treat also mentioned that Bishop Park needs more parking lights, he said this would give the park a lot more field space, especially for softball and soccer.

An irrigation system for Bishop Park would also be a major priority, the park,

especially the baseball and softball fields, has become infamous for flooding issues since the park was opened early last decade.

Treat stressed that an A&P tax alone would not cover all of these costs

and that money from the city’s general fund and potential grants would still be needed.

“Without the A&P, none of it happens. We have no shot at this kind of a plan without it,” said Treat.

Treat said if the A&P tax is not approved it could lead to several problems for the city’s parks.

“It not only keeps us from any kind of progress, we will see our parks slowly deteriorate because we have no money for capital improvements,” said Treat.

The City Council will discuss the proposal at a special meeting in the next few weeks.