That's what Mayor Charlie Roberts hopes, anyway.

Fashioned after Salt Lake County's Zoo, Arts and Parks (ZAP) tax, Tooele's proposal would increase sales taxes within city limits by one-tenth of 1 percent (0.1%).

They are calling it the Parks, Arts and Recreation (PAR) tax, and it will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

If voters pass the measure, sales taxes would increase from 6.2 percent to 6.3 percent and bring an additional $300,000 a year to city coffers.

"No one spoke against it in our public hearings," Roberts said. "We hope residents will see the advantages it would bring."

With Tooele's rapidly growing population, kids are running out of places to run around, throw Frisbees and just let off energy, the mayor said.

"We're OK on competition baseball and soccer fields. But we're really hurting for practice fields and places just to play."

City officials had earlier approached Tooele County, hoping the commission would follow Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties in putting a ZAP-like tax to the voters. But after the commissioners demurred, the City Council voted unanimously to move forward on its own.

The PAR tax would add significantly to the town's $665,000 recreation budget. Such funds in Tooele's annual $10 million budget are taken from impacts fees the city charges on new homes.

The funding would be used for such things as enhancing 26 acres the city recently purchased amid a host of subdivisions springing up in Tooele's northeast quadrant.

The parcel, called England Acres, needs grass, playgrounds, pavilions and rest rooms, among other things, Roberts explained. "We'd like a jogging track and a picnic area, too."

The funds also could enhance the three-day Tooele Arts Festival each June.

"We don't have too many cultural events, but we do have the Arts Festival, and [its organizers] could apply for some of the funds," Roberts said.

Festival Director Susan Cummings said she "totally supports" the PAR tax proposal. Admission to the nonprofit festival is free, and its volunteer organizers depend on donations to keep the annual celebration going.

"It could really help us pay for entertainment," Cummings said. "We're in our 20th year, and we've outgrown our space. With enough funding, the Arts Festival could expand."

csmart@sltrib.com