This November, Duvall residents will vote on the city’s Proposition 1, a tax levy to fund improvements to Big Rock Ballfields, a full-time school resource officer and updating the city’s technology infrastructure.

The city will hold an open house on the levy, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, at the Duvall Visitor Center, 15619 Main St. N.E. The formal presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The estimated additional cost of the levy is 32.5 cents per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value, or about $130 more annually on a home valued at $400,000.

Two thirds of the nine-year levy, estimated to generate $330,000 annually, will go toward the ball field improvements, including two lighted synthetic turf fields, parking and a perimeter trail. The total investment will be $3 million and the city has received $1.7 million in grant funding.

According to City Manager Matt Morton, a group of volunteers added some fill in an effort to improve drainage at the fields about five years ago, and “it did add some life to the field with that volunteer effort, but it hasn’t held up.”

The remainder of the levy will go toward a full-time school resource officer, at an estimated $100,000 annually, and updates in the city’s IT infrastructure, estimated at $30,000 annually. The the school district currently pays $25,000 annually for a school resource officer at the high school, but Morton said the city and the school district want to expand the program to include a full-time officer at the high school, with partial coverage at Cherry Valley Elementary School and Tolt Middle School.

For more information about Proposition 1, visit www.duvallwa.gov or contact Jodi Wycoff at jodi.wycoff@duvallwa.gov, or call (425) 788-1185.

A separate ballot measure, Advisory Vote 1, will ask voters in Duvall whether the city should Duvall voters to provide an advisory vote whether or not to enact a prohibition of fireworks within city limits. More information about the fireworks advisory vote can be found at www.duvallwa.gov.