Join the Alliance in supporting SPET propositions to reduce congestion and create affordable housing for our middle class
Please join the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance and thousands of your friends and neighbors in voting FOR SPET propositions 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 and the reallocation proposition on the May 2, 2017 ballot to support investments in reducing congestion and creating affordable housing for our middle class.
With skyrocketing housing costs and gridlock on our roads, our quality of life and community character is at stake.
It’s up to us to make sure Jackson Hole remains a place where middle class families can afford to live and work. And if we don’t act, our traffic problems will only get worse. We can’t afford to kick the can down the road any longer.
The SPET propositions endorsed by the Alliance will generate affordable housing for our middle class and reduce congestion by improving transit and making it safer to walk and bike.
Dealing with traffic congestion through investments in improved transit and making it safer to walk and bike, and addressing our housing crisis so that hard working people can afford to live here are two important elements of the Alliance’s AGENDA 22, an ambitious package of balanced solutions that will advance our community’s vision of making Jackson Hole a national model of living in balance with nature.
The investments funded through these propositions will build housing in town for police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, bus drivers, and people who work hard to protect our community. Building housing in town for people who provide critical community services will help protect against development spreading into our open spaces and wildlife habitat.
In addition, investments in START and sidewalks will give commuters the choice to take convenient transit to get to work, taking cars off our roads and helping to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions.
All of this is why the board of directors of the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance voted to endorse the following SPET propositions on the May 2017 ballot to support investments in reducing congestion and creating affordable housing for our middle class, and why we hope you join us in voting FOR these propositions:
South Highway 89 Pathway and South Park Boat Ramp Underpass
$1,500,000 in re-allocation of previously collected SPET funds, currently on hand, representing the unspent funds from the South Park Loop Road Pathway, to be utilized for the purpose of funding the planning, design, engineering, and construction of a South Highway 89 pathway and South Park Boat Ramp underpass. This project is sponsored by Teton County.
Proposition #1 – Replacement of Current START Buses and Purchase of Additional START Buses
$6,500,000 for the purpose of funding the acquisition of replacement START buses for current service levels and for the purchase of additional START buses for future service expansion. This project is sponsored by the Town of Jackson.
Proposition #2 – Town of Jackson/Teton County Housing at Parks and Recreation Maintenance Facility
$2,900,000 for the purpose of funding, planning, design, engineering, and construction of approximately 21 rental housing units. Priority shall be given to employees of Teton County and the Town of Jackson. The rental units shall be located on Town of Jackson owned property at Public Works. This project is sponsored by the Town of Jackson.
Proposition #4 – Town of Jackson Pedestrian Improvements
$1,500,000 for the purpose of funding, planning, design, engineering, and construction of pedestrian improvements including crosswalks, and ADA facilities within the Town of Jackson. This project is sponsored by the Town of Jackson.
Proposition #6 – Town of Jackson/Teton County Housing at START Bus Facility
$8,300,000 for the purpose of funding planning, design, engineering, and construction of approximately 24 rental housing units. Priority shall be given to employees of Teton County and the Town of Jackson. The rental units shall be located on Town of Jackson owned property at the START Bus Facility.
Proposition #8 – Fleet Maintenance and START Bus Storage
$15,330,000 for the purpose of funding planning, design, engineering and construction of a Fleet Maintenance Facility and START Bus Storage. The Fleet Maintenance Facility services and maintains critical response and general use vehicles of the town and county including, but not limited to, law enforcement, buses, snow plows, street maintenance and water/sewer maintenance. This project is sponsored by the Town of Jackson.
While the Alliance hopes you’ll join us in voting FOR these propositions, we encourage you to make your voice heard and vote in the May SPET election regardless of how you feel about these or the other propositions on the ballot in order to help shape the future of our community.
For more detailed information about these and all of the SPET propositions on the May 2017 ballot, please click here to visit the Town of Jackson’s informational site. You can click here to view a sample ballot.
In addition, the Town of Jackson and Teton County are jointly hosting public open houses on the May 2, 2017 SPET election on Wednesday, April 19 in the Ordway Auditorium of the Teton County Library from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and on Friday, April 21 at the Senior Center of Jackson Hole from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
You can vote now until May 1, 2017 in the basement of the Teton County Administrative Building at 200 S. Willow St.
On Election Day, May 2, 2017, you can vote at the Teton County Library, the Teton County / Jackson Recreation Center, or the Old Wilson Schoolhouse. Click here for additional information about voting on May 2, 2017.
The specific purpose excise tax – known as SPET – is an optional, voter-approved 1 percent sales tax paid by visitors and residents on most goods and services purchased within the county, excluding food. The tax has been in place since the 1980s and provides approximately $10-$12 million a year toward public capital construction and infrastructure projects.
