Pipe Dreams
Maybe it is time we talk about the joint parks board that has been meeting in secret.
What is being proposed by the Mayor and, he now has some people on council willing to listen to his poorly thought out plan, is the whole area pass a property tax levy. I had heard 2 mills originally now that goes much higher.
First if the plan is to build a $15 Million Recreation Center then the debt service on that loan would be in the range of $1.2 Million per year for 25 years. The combined assessed property valuation of the City of Pickerington and Violet Township is around $877 Million. For each mill the taxpayers pass it will raise $877,000. So we are looking at around one and a half mills for the debt service for just the Shaver Recreation Center. The Groveport Facility looks good and seems to be very nice. It is also heavily subsidized by the Groveport Village tax payers and that is why you see the Groveport Rec Center advertising here in Pickerington for patrons. If you have a swimming pool, a gym and a weight room it will require a lot of staff not to mention the maintenance staff. That is not to mention the utility bills associated with a heated pool and lighting.
Shaver as a councilman in 2003 opposed the Hickory Lakes purchase because of operating expenses after the purchase. Now this project he is refusing to take any of those expense into account.
Here again we bring up the impact fees which when a new home is built the city collects over $1,000 in impact fees for the parks system. So if the city forms a joint parks board where does these impact fees for the parks go? If the City then signs away it rights to annex thus giving up its rights to collect impact fees on its borders what happens to the debt service of the Shaver Rec Center?
Finally the city owns I believe over 120 acres of park land with some facilities already in place. This new parks board would support and maintain the city parks under a lease agreement from the city. The city budget for its parks system is around $600,000 per year. So these financial genus?’s now are going have a parks board that goes five year to five year on a levy to require the city taxpayers to pay rent for their own parks. Does that make sense to any of you? So I would expect to see this parks board formed and float a 5 mill or higher levy to satisfy this dream of the Mayor?’s.
Maybe it is time we talk about the joint parks board that has been meeting in secret.
What is being proposed by the Mayor and, he now has some people on council willing to listen to his poorly thought out plan, is the whole area pass a property tax levy. I had heard 2 mills originally now that goes much higher.
First if the plan is to build a $15 Million Recreation Center then the debt service on that loan would be in the range of $1.2 Million per year for 25 years. The combined assessed property valuation of the City of Pickerington and Violet Township is around $877 Million. For each mill the taxpayers pass it will raise $877,000. So we are looking at around one and a half mills for the debt service for just the Shaver Recreation Center. The Groveport Facility looks good and seems to be very nice. It is also heavily subsidized by the Groveport Village tax payers and that is why you see the Groveport Rec Center advertising here in Pickerington for patrons. If you have a swimming pool, a gym and a weight room it will require a lot of staff not to mention the maintenance staff. That is not to mention the utility bills associated with a heated pool and lighting.
Shaver as a councilman in 2003 opposed the Hickory Lakes purchase because of operating expenses after the purchase. Now this project he is refusing to take any of those expense into account.
Here again we bring up the impact fees which when a new home is built the city collects over $1,000 in impact fees for the parks system. So if the city forms a joint parks board where does these impact fees for the parks go? If the City then signs away it rights to annex thus giving up its rights to collect impact fees on its borders what happens to the debt service of the Shaver Rec Center?
Finally the city owns I believe over 120 acres of park land with some facilities already in place. This new parks board would support and maintain the city parks under a lease agreement from the city. The city budget for its parks system is around $600,000 per year. So these financial genus?’s now are going have a parks board that goes five year to five year on a levy to require the city taxpayers to pay rent for their own parks. Does that make sense to any of you? So I would expect to see this parks board formed and float a 5 mill or higher levy to satisfy this dream of the Mayor?’s.
