Voters Urged to Back Parks Bond Measure : Proposition 1: The $298.8-million ballot item identifies dozens of projects in all 15 council districts that would benefit.

With Los Angeles facing a projected $177-million budget deficit, city officials asked voters Thursday to reach into their pockets to help finance a $298.8-million bond measure that would pay for parks and recreation improvements from the Los Angeles Zoo to the Hansen Dam Recreation Area.

In addition to big-dollar items, Proposition 1 on the June 4 ballot identifies dozens of neighborhood projects in all 15 council districts in an attempt to gain broad support across the city.

It would, for example, provide money to buy the Eagle Rock landmark in northeast Los Angeles, repair the pier at Venice Beach, expand a nature center in Harbor City, build a senior citizen center in Pacoima and provide a soccer field in South Los Angeles.

“To get it passed you have to make it big enough to include something in all of the districts,” said Councilman John Ferraro, who proposed the measure. “That is the reality of it.”

Several city officials expressed concern that voters may be reluctant to impose a new tax on themselves at a time when the city faces a deficit and the City Council and mayor are considering a variety of new taxes, including an entertainment tax and a real estate transfer fee.

But officials said the benefits of the proposed bond measure would far outweigh the cost, which would amount to a property tax increase of $13.20 per year on average for 20 years.

”. . . Los Angeles has long since outstripped the recreational and parks facilities of this city,” Mayor Tom Bradley told reporters Thursday at a MacArthur Park news conference. “Growth of the population and the size of the city now make it impossible for us to fully enjoy the many cultural and recreational facilities that are needed for this city.”

The measure needs approval by two-thirds of the voters to become law, a requirement that sank a similar county bond measure last November. About $100 million worth of projects proposed under Proposition 1 would have been funded under Proposition B, the $817-million county measure.

Despite the failure of the county measure, the City Council voted in February to place Proposition 1 on the ballot because members thought it has a better chance of passing than the county measure.

Proposition 1 sets aside nearly $80 million for improvements to 102 parks and recreation centers throughout the city, $50 million for improvements to the Los Angeles Zoo, $25 million for an overhaul of the Griffith Park Observatory, $25 million to buy new parks and $15 million for improvements to the Hansen Dam recreational area in the San Fernando Valley.

“We can’t make repairs fast enough,” said Edwin Krupp, director of the Griffith Park Observatory, which he said would face at least partial closure if the bond measure fails and other sources of funding are not found.

“People are coming to us with their torn pants because the springs are coming through the seats,” he said.

Organizers of the Yes on Proposition 1 campaign said they will attempt to persuade voters over the next three weeks that recreational facilities are a bargain compared to other forms of entertainment, such as movies.

Ferraro urged reporters to identify the tax as $1.10 per month rather than $13.20 a year because “it is an improvement to say it that way.”

“You can’t even buy a hamburger for $1.10,” Bradley said. “For that small amount of money, look at what a bargain you are getting.”

So far, there has been no organized opposition to Proposition 1. No arguments against the measure were submitted for the ballot pamphlet, and several taxpayer organizations that opposed the county measure in November said Thursday that they have not taken a position on the city measure.

“At a different time, we might have taken a greater stance against it, but there is only so much you can do,” said Joel Fox, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., which is concentrating its effort on defeating a proposed real estate transfer tax in the city. “Pushed into a corner, we will probably tell people we will vote no.”

Proposition 1 supporters said they are depending heavily on support from senior citizens to get the measure approved. The measure sets aside more than $24 million to build or improve 10 senior citizen centers. Herold Sanders, president of the city’s Council on Aging, joined Bradley and Ferraro at Thursday’s news conference.

“For seniors, these centers are intended to provide accessible community gathering places to receive recreation, nutrition, educational services following retirement,” Sanders said. “Above all it is socialization. It keeps them active and keeps them out of being put into nursing homes, or retirement hotels at a big cost.”

Grover L. McKean, a former deputy state treasurer who is heading the Yes on Proposition 1 campaign, said the organization hopes to raise $250,000 to promote the proposition, much of it from seniors. So far, he said, the group has raised about $60,000, including contributions from Arco and the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn.

“There were 28 (state and local) ballot propositions asking for money on the (November) ballot when the county measure failed,” McKean said. “There is only one this time. We feel it is much easier to identify the benefits of this proposition. It is much closer to home.”

A Look at Proposition 1 Los Angeles voters will be asked on June 4 to vote on Proposition 1, a nearly $300-million bond measure for improvements in city parks and recreational facilities. If Proposition 1 passes, property taxes will increase an average of $13.20. Here’s a look at how the money would be distributed: Griffith Park Observatory $24.9 million Hansen Dam Recreation Area $15 million Los Angeles Zoo $49.6 million Venice Beach and Pier $15 million Barnsdall Park $7.4 million Watts Towers Arts Park $6.1 million Senior Citizen Centers--acquire and develop 11 buildings $24.4 million Regional Cultural Facilities--acquire and develop at 10 locations $23.3 million Museum Facilities--expand and refurbish five museums $5.8 million Community Recreation Buildings--design and construct four buildings $19 million Recreation Trails--develop walking, hiking, biking and equestrian trails $3.7 million Open Space Acquisition--preserve natural open space areas $25 million Local Park Projects--acquire land and develop 102 neighborhood parks $79.5 million TOTAL $298.8 million SELECTED PROJECTS BY DISTRICT COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 Refurbish Downey Recreation Center as licensed child care center $750,000 Build senior center and outdoor improvements at MacArthur Park $4.8 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 2 Gym, meeting rooms and senior center at Sepulveda Recreation Center $600,000 COUNCIL DISTRICT 3 Develop Bell Canyon Park--Phase I $475,000 Improve swimming pool at Reseda Recreation Center $250,000 Multipurpose sportsfield facilities at White Oak Recreation Center $450,000 COUNCIL DISTRICT 4 Relocate senior center to the West Wilshire Recreation Center $1 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 5 Develop Beverly Glen Park--Phase I $725,000 Community center, pool at Van Nuys/Sherman Oaks Recreation Center $7 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 6 Enlarge Westchester Senior Citizen Center $500,000 Build gym at Westchester Recreation Center $500,000 Improve Housing Authority Recreation Center $587,500 COUNCIL DISTRICT 7 Enlarge Pacoima Recreation Center $900,000 Construct Pacoima Senior Citizen Center $950,000 COUNCIL DISTRICT 8 Recreation center, pool at or near Exposition Park $7 million Convert existing parking lots along Menlo Avenue at Exposition Park into soccer fields when property is not required for parking $2 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 9 New Ross Snyder Recreation Center with gym and meeting rooms $2.5 million Improve two Housing Authority Recreation Centers $1.18 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 10 Child-care wing, improvements at Baldwin Hills Recreation Center $180,000 Refurbish pool and Jackie Robinson Stadium at Rancho Cienga Sports Center $275,000 Improvements at four parks $425,000 COUNCIL DISTRICT 11 Improvements, habitat restoration at Potrero Canyon Park $2.2 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 12 Recreation center and gym in Granada Hills $2.5 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 13 Improvements at Barnsdall Park $500,000 Neighborhood park near Hillhurst and Franklin Avenues $3.5 million Expand land and outdoor facilities at Silver Lake Recreation Center $1 million COUNCIL DISTRICT 14 Improvements at Hollenbeck Park $1.2 million Improve Housing Authority Recreation Center $587,500 COUNCIL DISTRICT 15 Recreation and sports facilities in the Harbor area $2 million Improve four Housing Authority Recreation Centers $2.4 million Build and refurbish senior centers $3.25 million Compiled by Times editorial researcher Cecilia Rasmussen