Two sales taxes approved in March went into effect in Mountain Home on July 1.
On March 9, Mountain Home voters approved a temporary 0.5% sales tax to build a community center with an aquatic complex and make improvements to the city’s parks. At that same election, voters also approved a permanent 0.25% sales tax to support the city’s Parks Department.
Sales tax in Mountain now sits at 9.875%, which includes 6.5% for the state, 2.125% for the city and 1.25% for the county. The 0.75% increase in sales tax means an additional 75 cents of sales tax for each $100 spent in Mountain Home. A family that spends $1,000 a month on goods or services in the city will now pay an additional $7.50 in sales tax each month.
Using last year’s sales tax figures, the temporary half-cent sales tax is estimated to generate about $2.72 million for the city, which will use that revenue to pay off $38.6 million in bonds it will issue to build the community and improve its parks. That sales tax will expire once those bonds are paid off, which is estimated to take 16 to 17 years.
The permanent quarter-cent sales tax is estimated to generate $1.36 million, based on last year’s sales tax numbers. The city will use that revenue to fund the city’s Parks Department.
The city will begin receiving collections from the two sales taxes in September.
Mountain Home Mayor Hillrey Adams says the city would begin making park improvements once it begins receiving revenue from the sales taxes. Construction on the community center is a more longterm project, with construction expected to begin next summer.
McCabe Park, the newest of the city’s parks, will be the location of the community center and aquatic complex. The building will contain a 30,000-square-foot community center at a cost of $6.6 million. The facility will also include meeting multipurpose rooms, a fitness area with cardio and resistance equipment and an elevated walking track.
A 35,000-square-foot gymnasium/multipurpose hall will be constructed for $6.735 million, featuring courts that can be used for basketball, pickleball and volleyball. That floor space can also be used for large community events or business expos.
The indoor aquatic center will check in at 35,000 square feet with a competition lap pool, a heated therapy pool and a kids play pool. The cost for that portion of the facility is $9.212 million.
The final area of new construction will be an outdoor aquatic area with a size of 35,000 square feet at a cost of $3.85 million. Three different pools, water slides and a lazy river are included in that price.
A total of $2.2 million will be needed for McCabe Park site improvements like improved parking.
The plan also includes just over $2 million in improvements at Clysta Willett Park baseball facility; just under $2 million for upgrades at the Keller Park softball complex; just over $1.9 million to upgrade the L.C. Sammons Youth Center at Cooper Park, repair the park’s tennis courts and convert the previous city pool to a splash pad.
Improvements are also planned for the dog park at the Keller Complex; playground equipment at all parks; the Dr. Ray Stahl Soccer Complex and a setup for RV parking at Clysta Willett Park.
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