How to run a successful recreation facilities referendum
Recreation centers, public parks and trails, pools, and athletic facilities form the foundation of community wellness and engagement. Successful funding for park districts and projects requires a multifaceted approach. Community support and funding are critical; without that backing, a parks and recreation project is less likely to flourish.
A vote on a bond referendum truly is the culmination of a marathon of assessments, surveys, data points, and community engagement. A successful recreation referendum starts years before a vote. The following are real-world lessons, success stories, and suggestions to help get a community’s next big project across the finish line.
What A Referendum Really Means
A bond referendum is a voter-approved debt authority; voters authorize an investment in projects that will shape the future of their community, and they’re ultimately covering the bill through property taxes. Common projects in recreation referendums include pools, recreation centers, senior centers, public trails, and parks or land acquisition.
What Makes A Successful Referendum?
A successful referendum isn’t won in the months leading up to a vote—it is the result of months, and sometimes years, of groundwork. From early planning to thoughtful ballot language, every step of the process matters. Creating funding sources for park districts and municipalities requires a strong partnership among architects, a city, and a community. A roadmap to support the success of a referendum should include the following:
- Alignment: The project plan must be logical, be a need that is felt within the community, and still be affordable (consider the impact on current property tax rates).
- Existing Plans: Using a master plan or a strategic plan to shape the referendum increases voter confidence since these plans typically already include extensive community engagement, analyses, and hard data. Start early and refine as new data or research are included.
- Early, Consistent, Transparent Engagement: Hold surveys, workshops, design charrettes (intensive community-planning activities and design concepts concentrating on public involvement), and focus groups throughout the planning process. Share updates backed by quantitative data so residents can see how their input directly shapes decisions. Consider creating a web page dedicated to the referendum and updating it often.
- Proximity And Relevance: “If the voter sees that there's relevance to them, they're going to vote for it,” says FGMA Vice President and Principal Rich DePalma. “You can absolutely see a spatial analysis where the further away from a project, the fewer votes that it gets.” Include voters in the story of the project. Help them picture themselves using, visiting, or recreating in the new space. Use maps to prove proximity. The more a voter feels seen in a project, the more likely they are to support it.
- Robust, Not Overboard: DePalma says, “If you can make it more robust and have a logic to it, then the voters will have a higher likelihood of voting for it.” Larger, prioritized referenda that address the true needs of the whole community tend to outperform singular asks (like asking voters for a new golf course that maybe only 10-15% of residents will use).
- Education (Different From Being An “Advocate”): Education campaigns are critical to teach the general population exactly what is involved in a referendum. Producing clear, factual materials will support the “why” and tell the story of the story. (Tip: partner with an architect for cost-estimating, fact sheets, sketches, renderings, or interactive site maps to better visualize the story.) So long as there is no call to action to vote, these education campaigns are appropriate and even necessary.
- Strategic Timing: Space out bond referendums so a community doesn’t feel overwhelmed with ask after ask. Choose the right voting cycle.
- Balance Ambition and Sensibility: Above all, make it worth the investment, something practical and also exciting enough that a community will be proud to support.
In short, a winning referendum doesn’t only ask for votes—it earns them by demonstrating relevance, fairness, and responsibility. When leaders treat a referendum as a long-term process and closely align projects with community priorities, they will build public trust. This thoughtful planning is ultimately what will secure the votes needed to turn vision into reality.
Anchoring Referenda In Well-being, Data, And People
At the heart of future-forward referendum planning lies a bigger question: what type of wellness are we designing for?
According to DePalma, framing a referendum project as a holistic investment in full-community wellness shifts the conversation from cost to impact. Instead of “What will this cost me?” the topic becomes “What will I gain from this?” In this way, the strategy focuses on what problem is being addressed and whose lives will be improved.
Community engagement isn’t only a box to check; it is the foundation of good planning. From facility reviews to programming studies, seeking diverse voices is critical. Beyond the loudest, typically active voices, listen to staff, parents, young adults, seniors, students, organizations, and groups. Effective engagement that prioritizes varied perspectives should be paired with data-block-level census trends, health indicators, socioeconomic metrics, and program interests to show not only what the community wants but what gaps exist.
Leaders can rework surveys to identify program and health needs, form advisory committees in underserved areas, and even send out requests for information (RFIs) to involve local organizations. Planning that finds "quiet voices," bolsters equity arguments, and builds credibility ensures that the entire community, not only its most vocal supporters, shapes referenda.
Beyond Design: The Architect’s Role In Referendum Support
It is often assumed that architects enter the picture well after funding is secured, once a project is approved and ready for drawings. No—their value starts well before the first design concept. Firms like FGMA are involved early in the process, offering strategy, engagement, and trust-building backed by hard data and studies.
FGMA’s team supports clients with the referendum process:
- Providing audits and facility assessments to prioritize needs and potential costs
- Creating concept plans or renderings to help the public better understand proposed projects
- Facilitating workshops that include all voices (not only the vocal few).
A holistic strategy redefines architects as more than building designers; they are partners in building community. When a project’s framework reaches beyond the facility and focuses on creating community-centered environments, everyone is better positioned to win the votes required to bring the vision to life.
Project Spotlights: Different Paths, Shared Lessons
1. Glen Ellyn Park District Sunset Park & Pool
In 2021, the park district selected FGMA along with aquatic consultant Counsilman-Hunsaker to provide an audit of the existing popular outdoor pool and related facilities. The audit informed a comprehensive concept plan that became part of a larger referendum. Community-wide surveys from 2014, and again in late 2021 and 2022, and community engagement in master planning from 2018 to 2021 for major park improvements helped the Glen Ellyn Park District staff and the Board of Commissioners identify current and future community needs and develop a list of priority projects to meet those needs.
“It was a larger referendum that captured multiple projects together, which we’re seeing more and more in just the last four to five years,” says FGMA Principal Daniel Nicholas, AIA. The referendum included seven projects in total. The Sunset Pool upgrade plans centered around making the pool more inclusive and family-friendly. The Glen Ellyn Park District Referendum passed in 2022.
- White Rock Hills Recreation Center
After years of advocacy by the Ferguson Road Initiative (FRI), the $24-million, White Rock Hills Recreation Center project finally became part of the extensive $345-million, City of Dallas 2024 Parks and Recreation Bond.
Years of preparation made all the difference. A 2015 feasibility study, land acquisition, street upgrades, and new trail connections created momentum and excitement. FRI made community support easy and accessible by sharing letters on its website in both English and Spanish to send to council members. This center is the only new recreation center on the bond: proof that perseverance pays off.
As the project’s selected architect, FGMA will collaborate with FRI to engage with the community to understand current priorities, analyze today’s data, and bridge any gaps between the 10-year-old study and present results. “It’ll be kind of a retrospective and then a looking forward as well,” says FGMA Vice President and Principal David Polkinghorn, AIA.
“The facility is going to function as much as a community center as a rec center, in terms of programming,” says Polkinghorn. “There will be after-school function space, meeting rooms, areas to have community-wide events. It's exciting to do a project that will be important to the daily lives of people and bring people together.”
- Bolingbrook Recreation & Aquatic Center (BRAC)
Bolingbrook Park District’s referendum success was based on long-term planning and strategic timing. Starting with a strategic plan in 2013, leaders refined priorities by involving the community in discussions in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Years of input confirmed that the projects met the district’s most urgent needs by the time the referendum was on the ballot in 2018.
The financial strategy was just as important. The new bond would begin as a previous bond and interest were being retired. Regardless of a “yes” or “no” vote, the park district portion of residents’ tax bills would decrease. The referendum was framed as a chance to reinvest savings into upgraded recreation and aquatic facilities. The alignment of community input, responsible budgeting, and strategic timing made the “yes” vote easier to support.
- Pflugerville Recreation Center
The $169-million Pflugerville Downtown East Project, located outside of Austin, is an initiative that illustrates the strength of creative funding partnerships. The plan combined various financing models, including certificates of obligation, community development funds, a tax increment reinvestment zone (TIRZ, commonly known as a TIF), and voter-approved bonds. The recreation center was funded by the latter. Following a community-driven planning process, voters approved Proposition C (the final of three recreation-based propositions on the ballot) of the 2020 Capital Improvement Bond. Pflugerville is a prime example of how large initiatives can use a creative balance of community needs and spending by combining referendum funds with other resources.
Conclusion: Build Trust, Build Wellness
“You never want to go to a referendum unless you know what the answer is going to be,” says Nicholas. “That’s just doing your homework and knowing what’s going on in your community.”
Recreational referenda are acts of engaged civic trust. Success depends on focusing on community wellness, using data to include underserved voices, and building early partnerships that value transparency.
Engaging community members, leaders, and local organizations helps projects reflect real environmental, financial, and social needs. By designing solutions that are both practical and impactful, communities can increase the likelihood that their referendum will succeed and provide facilities that serve the true needs of the community.
