New parks tax proposed in Clermont

It wasn't the usual question.

"Is it the urinal?" Clermont County Parks Director Chris Clingman asked, pausing a discussion about the park district's proposed levy.

"Yep," the employee replied, "it's flooding the bathroom."

The 45-year-old potty at Pattison Park is a constant problem. If the levy passes, it would be at the top of the list of things to fix in a list of roughly $1 million of work needed across the 600-acre park district, Clingman said.

But this 10-year levy proposal is about far more than deferred maintenance.

If approved, it would provide the park district with nearly six times the public funding it currently receives from county taxpayers, money that Clingman said would be used to enhance the park district in many ways, including adding park land and finishing some partially done projects.

The proposal would cost $17.50 a year per $100,000 of property value.

Clermont County residents have said they want this, according to a survey completed in 2014 by the Community Building Institute at Xavier University.

Respondents rated goals regarding parks, nature and recreation as their highest priority in a 10-year plan for the county, compared to all other categories, including housing, health and wellness and economic opportunity.

Park usage is also up in recent years, Clingman said. If the district wants to continue to take care of what it has and grow, it's going to need a bigger budget.

"People have said they want what their neighbors have," Clingman said, referring to other adjacent park districts.

Until now, the district has run five parks, three nature preserves, a bike trail and a nature program on about a $600,000 budget, funded by roughly $425,000 in taxes from county residents and park revenues from fees such as lodge rentals for weddings.

Clermont County property owners have paid about $3.50 a year per $100,000 of their property value since the park district formed in 1970. That money is given to the park district by the county government out of the inside millage it collects from residents. Inside millage is a tax that counties and townships in Ohio are allowed to collect that is not voted on by the electorate.

The park district will continue to receive the inside millage, if this levy passes, as long as county government allows.

What happens if the tax passes

The park district wants to:

* add a shelter and playground to Shor Park in Union Township and Kelley Nature Preserve in Miami Township;

* add year-round restrooms at some of its parks and nature preserves;

* use the money to help leverage other funding and complete the 15-mile hike and bike trail connecting Williamsburg to Batavia through East Fork State Park (eight miles are currently completed).
The park district recently purchased 10-mile Creek Preserve in Pierce Township with Clean Ohio grant money and would like to open it.

More funding could allow the district to consider accepting up to 400 acres of pending land donations. Park leaders would also like to explore the idea of paying for sheriff patrols to better protect these public properties and hire more staff to do jobs like maintenance and organizing volunteer efforts.

What happens if the tax doesn't pass

If the levy doesn't pass the park district would need to re-evaluate what the community really wants, Clingman said.

Right away it would need to consider cutting its nature programming, which currently serves about 5,000 people, mostly children. The district has grown by 400 acres since 2000, and cuts would have to come from somewhere. 

Any of the earlier mentioned enhancements could only happen if outside funding became available.

More detail about the proposed levy

• What it is: A 0.5 mill tax levy that would be collected for the next 10 years and raise an additional $2.1 million a year for the Clermont County Park District.
• Who pays: Clermont County property owners.
• How much will it cost: $17.50 a year per $100,000 of property value

Editor's note: An earlier version of this article was corrected to reflect the correct number of people served by the park district's nature program and the number of acres added since 2000.