Parks board to seek bigger levy

YOUR MONEY

DELAWARE — Delaware County residents appreciate the quiet solitude of its nine parks.

Now, Preservation Parks officials hope voters are willing to support a countywide renewal tax increase to support them — plus add two additional parks.

Officials on Monday announced they will be placing a 10-year, 0.9-mill levy on the November ballot that includes an additional 0.3 mill. If approved by voters, the levy would increase the tax on property owners by $10.30 per $100,000 of property valuation. Currently, homeowners pay almost $19 per $100,000.

The current levy, which expires at the end of 2018, generates about $3.6 million annually and was approved by 51.7 percent of voters. The new levy would generate an additional $2.1 million a year starting Jan. 1, 2019.

Two new parks could open within a few years if the levy is approved.

The park system owns 115 acres along Pollock Road south of the city of Delaware and plans to buy 117 acres in Orange Township. There are also plans to expand and link portions of the multiuse trails.

Tom Curtin, the park system’s executive director, said it may be challenging to persuade the younger, fast-growing communities along the county’s southern edge to support the parks, when they already use Highbanks, Blendon and Glacier Ridge, which are part of the Franklin County Metro Parks system.

Each parks system has a different priority, he said, and Delaware residents prefer “quieter parks with a natural history focus.”

By contrast, Tim Moloney, Metro Parks director, recently shared plans with the Dublin City Council to develop Glacier Ridge Metro Park to have bike trails with jump ramps and an area for flying drones.

Sue Hagan, Preservation Parks spokeswoman, said the message will be: “These are parks right around the corner, right in your own backyard. The key is letting them know that these are your parks paid with your tax dollars.”