Fall City voters may have to wait until February to weigh in on a new park district proposed for the community.

The park district decision, now headed to the King County Council for approval, missed an Aug. 12 deadline for the November general election, but members of Friends of Fall City Parks said they’ll likely put it on a Feb. 2009 ballot.

“We should have plenty of time to make the December deadline,” Friends member Judy Kelley said. “We’re just going to go for it.”

If approved, the district would create a local tax of 9.7 cents per $1,000 in property values. The money would be used to improve Fall City’s parks and add more park facilities for residents.

District backers said the group’s petition efforts last winter showed strong favor from residents.

“We had over 800 people sign it in two weeks,” said Perry Wilkins, co-chairman of Friends of Fall City Parks. “We needed 575. We got well over that.”

Fall City residents are eager for local control, and Kelley said a park district would allow locally-elected commissioners to hear residents’ needs and make decisions.

Wilkins said he recognizes that every penny is important. The tax, he said, puts in place a district that ensures Fall City residents’ needs aren’t ignored.

“If we put a good parks system in place, it’ll improve your standard of living, give your kids something to do in the weekend, it could even improve your property values,” Wilkins said. “Hopefully, people will look at it as an investment in the future.”

The county council is expected to make its decision on the district this fall.

The February ballot will also include elections for park commissioners. So far, Wilkins is the only, informally-declared candidate. Three other residents are considering runs, he said. The park district may have between three and five commissioners, depending on the number of people who run. Seats go to the top vote-getters.

The park district would have two part-time employees.

Boundaries of the district are roughly east to 336th Avenue Southeast, west to 277th Avenue, south to Southeast 76th Street and north to Southeast Third Street.

Friends of Fall City Parks, the non-profit, grant-seeking arm of the park district effort that is behind the ballot push, is distinct from the Fall City Park District Campaign Action committee, which is the political arm of the effort. The campaign group formed this summer. After the election is finished, it ceases to exist.