Quality of Life That’s Worth Every Penny

In addition to small-town charm, Boulder City’s spectacular quality-of-life amenities are among the main things that attract people to live here and visit us. But we often take our amenities for granted, sometimes assuming that they’re free just because the full cost isn’t directly charged back to us. Our library, senior center, airport, schools, and hospital are prime examples. Unlike utilities, you and I don’t receive a monthly invoice reminding us to pay for those. And although we might not regularly use all of them, just imagine how different Boulder City would be without even one.

Our Parks and Recreation Department manages many other low-cost amenities. Our swimming pool, parks, golf courses, Rec Center, fitness facilities, gyms, community gardens, and ABC classrooms come to mind. You and I use many of those cost-free or only for a nominal fee. But my service on City Council frequently reminded me that they aren’t free. Each one costs a pretty penny to build and maintain.

Take Veterans Memorial Park, for instance. Its 19.5 acres of turf take about 14.5 hours and over $700 to mow each time. Powering those facilities and lighting the fields can exceed $30 to $45 per day. And daily water costs for the ballfields, fish ponds, splash park, rest rooms, and general irrigation approach $300 or more. Those costs might seem small when viewed microscopically. But they add up to over $100,000 in utilities annually, plus tens of thousands more for maintenance. And that’s just one park. Multiply those figures many times over to account for scores of other amazing Parks & Rec facilities.

Is it worth it? Absolutely. Without these facilities, we could never market our town as “A World Away for a Day” or “Clean, Green Boulder City.” And but for these awesome amenities, many of us would never have moved our families here or chosen to remain.