MANSFIELD — The Richland County Park District may seek a property tax levy in 2022 as it works to open the Fleming Falls Nature Preserve.
The park district purchased the 183-acre preserve in 2019 from the Lutheran Outdoor Ministry in Ohio, which operated as Camp Mowana for more than 75 years.
Jason Larson, director of the park district, told Richland County Commissioners on Tuesday they are working to convert the former camp into a park.
Funding for the purchase, set at $2,062,500, came from the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund and a donation from Lutheran Outdoor Ministries in Ohio.
The work includes safety upgrades to trails, repaving existing roads and parking lots and marking out preliminary trails. Fleming Falls has opened to some groups and offered some open houses under a “soft launch” effort, Larson said.
His comments came during the department’s annual general fund budget discussion with commissioners, who hope to have a countywide 2022 spending plan finalized by the end of 2021.
Commissioners will be conducting a series of department budget hearings over the next several weeks.
Larson said it’s too early to determine when or if a levy attempt would be needed on the ballot, a decision that will ultimately be made by the three-member parks commission.
He said work is ongoing on the district’s strategic plan, which would include plans for Fleming Falls, the Gorman Nature Center and the Richland B&O Bike Trail.
“I would like to think sooner rather than later (on a levy attempt),” Larson said. “It depends on the strategic pan. There are (many) budgetary considerations. We are not going to ask the general public for levy money until we have a plan in place.
“One thing people need to know is (Fleming Falls) is not a camp anymore. We are working to make it into a park. You can’t do all the things there that you used to be able to do.”
Larson said security at the site is a concern, as is the fact there are no restroom facilities nor a trash removal system, as there is at Gorman Nature Center. If a levy is on the ballot in 2022, and approved by voters, the funds would not be collected until 2023.
“We don’t have an opening date,” he said. “We don’t want to put the cart before the horse and open it before we are ready for the general public.
“If we have a levy, maybe (open) within a year. If not, it depends on the general fund (budget) from county commissioners and grant funds we can obtain.”
Commissioners allocated $250,000 from this year’s general fund budget and Larson requested $263,000 in 2022. Larson said the largest part of the additional funds would be used for Fleming Falls.
Commissioners Cliff Mears and Darrell Banks both commented on the beauty of the park.
“It’s one of the most beautiful places in Richland County,” Banks said. “I hope they can find a way to get it open.”
Also on Tuesday, commissioners authorized Rachel Troyer, the county’s central services coordinator, to again advertise for proposals to provide medical services in the county jail.
Troyer said she had advertised for proposals several weeks ago and none have been received.
The contract with county’s current provider, Advanced Correctional Healthcare Inc., has not submitted a proposal to replace the contract that ends Dec. 31.
“We are not sure why no proposals have been submitted,” Troyer said.
The county budget in 2021 is $553,770 to provide medical services to county jail inmates.
On Thursday, commissioners will announce a replacement for outgoing Emergency Management Agency director Rick Evans on Thursday at 2 p.m. Commissioners will also announce a new county administrator at that same time.
