by Mike Sever
Record-Courier staff writer
The Portage Park District is seeking approval of Issue 32, a 0.5-mill, 10-year levy to conserve land, water resources and historic sites and increase the district's maintenance, education and recreation programs.
Christine Craycroft, the district's executive director, said the district could set aside 10 percent of levy funds to be used as local match money for local projects in townships and villages.
The levy would raise $1.7 million annually and would cost the owner of a $100,000 property $16 a year.
Currently, the park district operates on less than $175,000 annually to maintain 325 acres of public parkland, including more than 13 miles of hike and bike trails. It also has more than 380 acres of preserved land not yet open to the public due to a lack of operating funds.
This is the fifth time the district has tried for a levy since its inception in 1991.
Currently, the district owns or operates 10 properties across the county: Towner's Woods in Franklin Township; Dix Park in Ravenna Township; The Portage Hike & Bike Trail; Headwaters Trail between Mantua and Garrettsville; Breakneck Creek Preserve in Ravenna Township; Chagrin Headwaters preserve in Mantua Township; Walter Preserve in Palmyra; Camp Spelman in Franklin Township; Gray Birch Bog in Brimfield; and Seneca Ponds Park in Streetsboro.