In a way, Tuesday was a walk in the park for the city of Wilmington.

Nearly 64 percent of the voters who participated in Tuesday’s election said yes to the 2016 Wilmington Parks Bond, with an unofficial count of 33,693 to 19,162, according to elections board figures.

“I’m personally very happy that the citizens trust our judgement on what the city needs and recognize that to get those things, we have to pay for them,” said Councilman Kevin O’Grady on Wednesday.

City voters agreed that the city should borrow money to begin $38 million in park projects, which includes $20 million to develop the 6.6-acre North Waterfront Park, to include a concert venue and a long list of other features; $10 million for a soccer complex; and additional funding for other parks projects throughout the city. The city will sell $30.4 million in bonds while the remaining $7.6 million is slated to come from existing funds.

The bond is expected to be repaid by increasing the city property tax rate by 2.1 cents per $100 of property value, meaning a homeowner with a $200,000 house, for example, will pay $42 more per year.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said, “We are grateful to all the citizens who took the time to vote and have a say in their local government. The Parks Bond will provide funding for some of our key needs and also help better position our community for the growth we know is coming. These projects will help us protect the investments we have in our existing parks as well as new recreational opportunities that will help improve the quality of life for our citizens. Now, we begin the hard work to put in place what our residents told us they wanted and what the city committed to doing.”

As for the next steps in the process, city staff members will begin to gather more information to help prioritize projects and determine what projects can get underway as quickly as possible, according to the release.

City officials mounted a campaign to explain the potential improvements and new amenities in the months leading up to the election, pointing out in numerous presentations that with the help of the bond issue, Wilmington will be keeping up with cities of similar size throughout the South by making the parks investment, in addition to giving residents what they've said they wanted in surveys.

More details about the park plans are available on the city’s website.