Commissioners for Metro Parks, Serving Summit County voted Monday, June 17 to place a seven-year renewal levy on the November 5 ballot.
The real-estate tax would annually collect $15.8 million – an amount certified by the Summit County Fiscal Office earlier this month – for the day-to-day maintenance, development and improvement of Metro Parks properties, beginning with tax year 2014 (collection year 2015) and continuing through 2020 (collection year 2021).
County voters approved the current levy at the rate of 1.46 mills in November 2006. Spokesperson Nathan Eppink explained that the issue on the fall ballot is a renewal of the current tax, which funds capital and operating expenses for the 11,500-acre park system and is the only local source of public money.
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“We manage 14 parks and more than 125 miles of trails that are enjoyed by more than 5 million people every year,” Eppink said. “We’re not only stewards of natural resources, but also financial resources, and the voters believe we do a good job with their hard-earned dollars.”
Since 2006, the park district has completed the following projects:
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*Worked with park partners to complete the Towpath Trail in Summit County, from the Cuyahoga County line to the Stark County line
*Completed the renovation of the visitors center at F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm (1828 Smith Rd., Akron)
*Opened the Twinsburg Ledges Area in Liberty Park (9999 Liberty Rd., Twinsburg)
*Expanded the Bike & Hike Trail parking lot at Brandywine Falls (8176 Brandywine Rd., Sagamore Hills) and completed the Brandywine Road bypass
*Opened the Tallmadge Meadows Area (1088 North Ave., Tallmadge) in Munroe Falls Metro Park
*Built the first 4.2 miles of the new multipurpose Freedom Trail (1765 Northeast Ave., Tallmadge)
*Opened Springfield Bog Metro Park, the first Metro Park in Southeast Summit County (1400 Portage Line Rd., Springfield Twp.)
*Added a new parking area for the Jogging Trail in Sand Run Metro Park (2400 Sand Run Pkwy., Akron)
*Completed the restoration of the Civil War-era Harter Barn in Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton
*District-wide, upgraded restrooms, trails and other facilities, and improved parking lots and parkways
“Every day, thousands of Summit County residents enjoy these clean, safe parks, trails and facilities,” said Christine Freitag, the president of Friends of Metro Parks, a nonprofit group of the district’s supporters. “We see the value in having a great park system.”
The three-person Board of Park Commissioners is appointed by the Summit County Probate Judge. Commissioners serve overlapping three-year terms without compensation and are assisted by the park district’s director-secretary, who oversees the work of full-time and part-time employees, seasonal workers and volunteers.
For more information, visit summitmetroparks.org or call 330-867-5511.