Voters Pass $550-Million in Infrastructure Bonds, Tax Increases

Denver voters appear to have passed all nine of the infrastructure bonds and tax increases, equal to $550 million, known as the A-through-I initiatives, in Tuesday’s election.

In early voting tabulations, the majority of the issues sustained a “yes” vote; however, Question 1H, which asks for $70 million for the expansion of Denver’s cultural facilities, led by only a thin margin at press time on Wednesday.

This portion of the bond packages delegates $40 million toward renovating Boettcher Concert Hall and paying for a 35,000-sq-ft expansion on the Speer Boulevard side of the building. An additional $30 million would go toward a new collection storage facility and education wing at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Opponents of this measure, and the similar 1G, which asks for $60.5 million to refurbish cultural facilities, argued that the city’s cultural facilities should raise their fees or seek private funds for the repairs and expansions.

Questions 1A and 1D address infrastructure needs, including streets, transportation and public works. 1A asks for $27 million annually and reduces the need to ask voters every 10 years to pass bonds. An additional $149.8 million, from 1D, the most popular among voters, which attracted 66.8% support, will address streets, transportation and public works, with a big portion of the money going toward street repairs. There was no formal opposition to Question 1D.

1B, which addresses health and human services, was passing at 60.1% in early tabulations and will apply $48.6 million for improvements to health and human services infrastructure needs. This includes spending $18.2 million to replace the city’s animal shelter and expand the Westwood Child Development Center; $8 million toward a $14-million project to expand Denver Health; and raises $19.5 million to rebuild the East Side Denver Human Services facility. This issue faced almost no formal opposition.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said the expansion of Denver Health will help the city cope with the exit of area hospitals to outlying communities.

Question 1C calls for $14.4 million for maintenance at branch libraries, including energy-efficiency projects, upgrades to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act and refurbishing the Carnegie buildings. It will also generate $37.4 million to build libraries in west Denver, Stapleton and Green Valley Ranch.

Denver parks and recreation centers will receive $93.4 million from Question 1E, with $17 million going toward updating irrigation systems at parks, athletic fields, open space and street medians. 1E also raises $9.8 million to restore historic structures in Civic Center Park.

Questions 1F and 1G address refurbishing existing city buildings and cultural facilities. Most of the $10.4 million from 1F will go to sprucing up the historic City and County Building repairs will include fixing the front steps, which are cracked and chipped, and replacing windows to conserve energy. Under 1G, Boettcher Concert Hall, the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Denver Botanic Gardens will upgrade for accessibility, general maintenance and new facilities.

Public safety is addressed in Question 1I, which will provide $65.2 million for public safety improvements, including $12 million to build a new fire station at Lowry and renovate six other stations, and $13 million for a new traffic operations center and police firing range. The largest share, $39.3 million, will build a new crime lab. This initiative passed with 63.1% of support in early returns.

As of midnight Tuesday, Denver County had about 20,000 ballots left to count, according to clerk and recorder Stephanie O’Malley.

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