The municipal elections are nearing. CBS 11 News takes a look at the propositions that could shape the way Anchorage looks in the future. We'll start with parks.

Need to upgrade parks?

While there is no question how much we love our parks, will property owners be willing to raise their taxes to fix them?

If you've lived in Anchorage for a long time, you know just by looking at our playgrounds, the city has changed.

"This is the first time that families are staying here. Anchorage used to be a transient place, but now we're raising our families here. Our parents are staying here as well. And we need to make sure we really have facilities here for our families to play in," said Schawna Thoma of the Municipality of Anchorage.

Muni officials say the reality is those playgrounds, just like the parks they lie on, need to be upgraded.

"We know that 76 percent of the people who live here use the parks. And sometimes we just need a little reminder to folks that we do have to pay for them somehow. That's why we're asking for some bond money to do that," said Thoma.

Municipal Parks and Recreation officials say nearly one million dollars of the five million bond dollars would be used to upgrade playground equipment they call dangerous, like at Al Lewis Lions Memorial Park in Government Hill. Officials say they simply do not even have money for basic safety upgrades and replacements, right now.

"There's a big difference between the old playground equipment that was made out of steel and the new, nice playground that kids can play on safely. There's a lot of safety upgrades. In fact, I would say a larger percentage of the items on the park bonds are for safety. And what's more important than kids being safe?" said Thoma.

The focus is on not only kids' safety, but safety code upgrades for projects like the Tour of Anchorage Bridge, which officials say is dangerous and needs to be updated. Also included in

the proposal are athletic field upgrades and 12 parks upgrades, including Bicentennial Park, the Delaney Park Strip, Goose Lake, Jewel Lake, Russian Jack Park and Town Square Park.

"We don't have to worry about them. We want to make sure people can use them for the weekend and not fall through or fall off. And if they do, they have a soft landing," said Thoma.

It is a landing Muni officials hope will finally take off after three past failures.

Proposition 2

If Proposition 2 passes, property owners would see their taxes increase by 3.40 dollars for each 100,000 of their assessed property value. That breaks down to about a two-dollar tax increase and an estimated about another two dollars for operational and maintenance costs. While all voters will vote for Proposition 2, only property owners in the Anchorage Bowl will pay for it.

Proposition 6

You may have seen a commercial from Muni officials where they say they need 35 million bond dollars to complete 26 road construction, drainage, safety and congestion projects. The major designs include upgrading Strawberry and Fireweed, improving the E Street corridor and Fish Creek's Water quality, as well as reconstructing Ninth Avenue. While all voters will be asked the yes or no question, only Anchorage Bowl property owners would pick up this tab.

"Many of our roads in the community need to be improved for safety reasons. Many

of them do not have pedestrian facilities adjacent to them or they're in very poor shape. So we need to, of course, provide a safe pedestrian facility along our roadways," said municipal engineer, Howard Holtan.

If Proposition 6 passes, property owners would see their taxes increase by about 16 dollars for each 100,000 dollars of their assessed property value. That breaks down to a 12.74-dollar tax increase and an estimated 2.99 dollars for operational and maintenance costs. But Mayor Mark Begich says he wants to remind everyone who will ultimately pay this bill.

"Here's how it works on both roads and park bonds. They're service area. And what that means is, the park bond is the Anchorage service area. It excludes Girdwood and

Eagle River/Chugiak because they have their own parks that they pay for out there. And in this one, it is required that the Anchorage service bowl pays for these parks. All the voters have to vote on it still. And that's just the way our charter's laid out: that everyone votes on this, not just the people who pay," said Begich.

Proposition 10

Proposition 10 would change how your voting district is decided. Right now in Anchorage, after the census is taken, Muni officials are required by law to decide what district residents live in before the state does. Officials say this often leads to confusion, because districts can change after state officials make their decision. Voting yes would mean Muni officials would wait until after state officials decide districts to assign them.

To contact Matthew, call 907-273-3186.