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HUBBARD TOWNSHIP – A little less than a month remains until the November election, and Harding Park’s 1.07-mill levy continues to stay on the minds of park commissioners, who hope to give it the attention it needs.
Hubbard Township Harding Park Board of Commissioners approved placing a 1.07-mill continuous levy on the ballot July 30.
The levy would generate approximately $315,000 annually.
The election is Nov. 3. Early voting started Oct. 6.
The park’s last levy, a 0.5-mill one, was in 1997, and it was when the park was separated from the library.
Park commissioner Mike Stiver on Tuesday noted that officials have to move a significant amount of money from the park’s savings to operational funds to cover day-to-day operations for the year as an example of the park’s needs.
“That account is depleting because we’ve had to do that a few years in a row,” Stiver said.
Stiver said the park’s employees are “drastically underpaid,” adding that they make between $11 and $13 an hour.
“We lost one guy this year, he didn’t return because he went to the Hubbard City park system because they were paying about $18,” Stiver said. “That’s a substantial increase and realistically, it’s what the guys should be making.”
Stiver said the park’s playground equipment and pavilions are aging, and they’ll be needing upgrades and replacements before long, which are expensive endeavors.
“Our equipment isn’t old yet, but it’s going to be coming, where the smaller stuff isn’t a big deal, but some of the larger tractors – you’re talking $60,000 when you need to replace them,” Stiver said. “It’s not an immediate need, but it’s something we have to be aware of and budget for.”
Stiver said they also could add some improvements, such as a dog park or basketball court, but those ideas haven’t been set in stone yet, only tossed around.
Stiver said park commissioners have discussed raising pavilion rental rates and even had conversations this year, but they decided against it to avoid seeming greedy on top of seeking the levy.
“We’re trying to keep it affordable, especially for community members,” said Stiver, who added that they’ve considered raising the rental rates more for people who don’t live in Hubbard and don’t contribute taxes to the park.
Stiver said they also would like to host community events and pursue grants, but noted nearly every grant requires some sort of matching funds, which they lack the capacity to offer.
Park commissioner Tom Papa, who has sat on the board for 25 years, paid for the “Vote Yes” signs seen around the township and city.
“I thoroughly enjoy seeing people use the park; I get out there when there’s ball games going on and people everywhere – the kids, the young kids on the playground area,” Papa said. “I call it my park. I mean it’s not my park, but I call it my park, and my family calls it my park.”
Papa noted the park receives a lot of use during the summer, with three to six pavilions being rented out each weekend, adding that they have any needed amenities, such as a stove, refrigerator and even a baby changing table.
Papa said that, since joining the park’s board of directors, only one more pavilion has been built, Kyle Pavilion, and it was a donation from the late Ray Kyle, who served on the board for more than 20 years.
“From my standpoint, we just kind of really maintained what was there, and we just go year to year as to what we can afford and what we do,” Papa said. “And we’re at the point right now where we’re out of money; the levy that they passed in the 90s is what we’re living on.”