Muskingum County Backs Park District Renewal

ZANESVILLE, OH – Voters in Muskingum Couty made their voices heard at the polls yesterday, showing support for local parks and trails.

Residents approved the Muskingum Valley Park District property tax renewal. The levy will continue for the next five years at 0.2 mills, helping maintain parks, trails, and recreational spaces across the county. More than 6,000 voters supported the measure, while just over 5,000 voted against.

“It’s an operating levy and essentially it will cost homeowners $5 for every hundred thousand dollars evaluation. That’s not a hundred thousand dollars of how much your house is worth, it’s basically the scale back tax raise. Our calculations are that an average home will spend less than $15 for a whole year. Which is significant because you can’t go to a fast-food restaurant and get a value meal these days for much less than that.” Russ Edgington, the Muskingum Valley Park District Executive Director said.

The renewal will help fund upkeep, improvements, and future projects that encourage outdoor recreation for everyone to enjoy.

“We’re very thankful because it is our primary source of operating funds. It’ll enable us to continue to leverage those operating funds to get grants. We’re currently sitting on close to two and a half million dollars’ worth of grants for projects that are going on. We would not have gotten those awards if we didn’t have an operating levy. Obviously, we have to pay the bills just like regular homeowners, but also looking to the future, those operating funds are vital to be able to continue to build the park and recreational resources in our community.” Edgington said.

The park district says it’s thankful for the community’s support and looks forward to continuing its work to keep Muskingum County’s parks thriving.