An open letter to the people of Fairfield County

An open letter to the people of Fairfield County

As you may know, the Fairfield County Parks are counting on your help to pass Issue 14 on May 4. We've put together a list of frequently asked questions to explain why passing Issue 14 is a good deal for Fairfield County.

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Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this, and get out and enjoy the parks!

Yes, but only slightly. The annual cost for the average homeowner in Fairfield County will be less than $20.00. That works out to about $1.67/month, or a little more than a nickel a day.

This is a local tax. While many agree that sending our personal money off to Washington in the form of increased taxes is not always a good idea, this is a tax that will keep your money here, in your community, working for you and your family. It will provide for recreational opportunities in our back yards, it will protect our standard of living and increase our property values, it will preserve our local history and our ancestors' legacy. Through school programs, we will act as a tutor for our children in history and science where they will be able to touch and experience the past and natural world rather than read about it in books. And best of all, the money we get through this levy will be used to leverage grant money back into our community. These grants are often funded through federal and state taxation that you contribute to. In a sense, you can spend a little cash now on a local tax that can bring tremendous amounts of your state and federal taxes back home.

The annual budget for the Fairfield County Parks is around $90,000/year. There are 18 parks, but only 5 are open to the public, as there isn't enough money for maintenance and upkeep of the other 13. Funding levels have actually decreased since the late 1990s.

I'm confused about which parks are Fairfield County Parks – isn't Alley Park a county park?

No. Alley Park is a Lancaster City park. The Fairfield County Parks have 5 covered bridges – Hanaway, Johnston, Rock Mill, Hartman at Lockville Park, and Mink Hollow. Cross Mound, near Tarlton, is a 2000 year old effigy mound. There is also a depression-era WPA suspension bridge across Salt Creek at Cross Mound. Stonewall Cemetery was started in 1817 and features a 12-sided, 60 foot diameter, eight foot high hand cut stone wall enclosing the Wilson family cemetery. Smeck Farm, near Baltimore, is a 50 acre nature preserve and has been used as a community garden center. Turkey Run Church is an 1835 brick church in the western portion of the county. Clearport Community Club is made up of two 1881 brick schoolhouses in Madison Township. Rock Mill is a 6 story grist mill, built in 1824, at the falls of the Hocking River. Mambourg Lodge and Hansel Nature Preserve are on US 22 near Colfax. Mambourg was built in the 1930s and sits on a 116 acre nature preserve. Hansel features an 84' deep hand dug well, an 1808 log cabin, and a section of the old Zane Trace. Lockville Park preserves 3 locks from the Ohio-Erie Canal, and is also home to the Hartman Covered Bridge. Two Glaciers Park is made up of three farms totaling 304 acres and preserving a vital section of Clear Creek between the Hanaway and Johnston covered bridges. Flight of the Hawk Sculpture Park, on Logan Road south of Lancaster, features a 2500 lb. sculpture of a red-tailed hawk, among other native Ohio wildlife sculptures. Zeller Soccer Park is 29 acres of soccer fields used by the Pickerington Area Soccer Association.

If the Fairfield County Parks have so little money, how did they acquire all these parks?

Most of the parks were donated to the people of Fairfield County by generous local folks wishing to preserve important sites for future generations. A few were deeded to the parks by other state and local government agencies. Some were purchased using grant money – for example, Two Glaciers park (over 300 acres) was purchased with an outlay of only $755.00 and an ODNR grant.

The restoration of Rock Mill is only in its first phase. The foundation and the building's framework has been stabilized, rotted timbers replaced, and a new roof and siding have been installed. Again, grant money and donations have paid for the bulk of the work. Much more work has to be completed before the mill can be fully restored, once again in operation, and open to the public. Once finished, it will be an attraction similar to Clifton Mill, near Yellow Springs. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Clifton Mill every year, and spend their money in the local area.

I keep hearing that supporting Issue 14 is a good investment – what does that mean?

Aside from the obvious benefits of recreation and the preservation of natural areas, considerable research has been done on the relationship of leisure activities and parks on the quality of life and the economic impact to local residents. For example: Parks and tourism are a low-impact way to bring outside money into the local economy. Lake Erie tourism creates 50,000 jobs yielding $1.5 billion annually. If you happen to live near a park in Columbus, your property value may be as much as 25% higher than a similar property further away. The Joint Economic Development Committee of Congress reported that cities' quality of life benefits such as parks were more important than purely business factors in attracting new businesses and industry. Ohio tourism is a $39 billion/year industry. In Fairfield County in 2007, tourism generated approximately $224 million dollars in direct spending, and supported 1 in every 12 private sector jobs in the county, according to a 2008 Tourist Economics Study by Ohio Department of Development, Ohio Tourism Division. Economic impact studies have shown that investment in parks returns ten dollars to the local economy for every one dollar invested. In the current economic climate, more folks are vacationing close to home. With additional funding, Fairfield County Parks will be able to attract more visitors to our county.

First, we will improve the parks that are currently open to the public and then provide facilities in order to access the other unopened parks to include: completion of the restoration of Rock Mill – Ohio’s oldest and largest gristmill and the largest mill of its kind in the United States; construction of Fairfield County’s first ever equine trail and camp; a “bark park”; construction of additional soccer fields; construction of an eight diamond, fast pitch softball park; restoration of a section of the old Ohio-Erie Canal for ice skating in winter and an exercise path in the summer; continuation of the county bicycle trails; construction of enclosed shelters for public meetings, family reunions, weddings, and other events; the continuation and further development of the recently introduced curriculum guide “My Colorful County;” establishment of a disc golf course; the cultivation of tourism so that visitors will stop in Fairfield County and spend their vacation money rather than just pass through the county; the development of an historical village and barn museum for agriculture that can act as a center for learning the nearly-lost arts. The village and barn will double as a mini convention center, again bringing dollars into Fairfield County. Finally, the aggressive pursuit of grant funds - in the past, the park system has missed opportunities due to the lack of matching funds. Such grants would allow the return of $8.00 to $10.00 for every dollar of local money invested.

The existing parks will continue to suffer from a lack of maintenance. In fact, due to tight budgets on the state and county level, some of the parks now open to the public may be closed. Opportunities for tourism dollars and grants will be lost. Businesses interested in relocating to Fairfield County may look elsewhere. Some parks may be sold to other park districts, removing local control from their operation and use.

Talk to your friends, talk to your family, tell them the benefits of voting YES on Issue 14. Please take the time to forward this letter, or the link http://tiny.cc/FCHP to everyone in your social network.