01/19/11 park district

  • By Nick Sabo
  • January 19, 2011
  • 295
                        
The Holmes County park board voted Tuesday/Jan. 18 to keep program fees at 2010 levels. With the park district starting 2011 solidly in the black and aware the toll the recession has taken on the community, director Jen Halverson said the fees do not need to be raised to continue to offer quality programs to the community. “With the economic impact the recession has had on the community, it’s nice that we can still offer these programs without raising fees,” Halverson said. “The programs are self-sustaining (at 2010 fee levels).” The park board elected to raise sponsorship rates from $95 to $100 per team and from $550 to $600 for track sponsorship. The 2011 program fees are as follows: Basic sports, $20; golf clinic, $45; golf league, $70; Walking on to Wellness, $5; photo contest, $3; art camp, $25, and ball handling, $20. In other business, Halverson reported that the district ended 2010 with a $46,568.49 carry-over. Halverson attributed the savings to the reduction of full time staff positions from two to one mid-year and good fiscal management. Boardmember Gretchen Acker said the carry-over is good news in a time of economic uncertainty. “Through good stewardship we have managed not to go into a deficit,” Acker said. “Our biggest fear was that we would be spending down our carry-over.” The carry-over is necessary to cover park district operations through the first three months of the year, until distribution of the district’s share of tax revenues come in. The park district scaled backs its full time staff in mid-summer after trail coordinator Joan Miller left to pursue other opportunities. With Halverson remaining as the sole full time employee, the district saved about $25,000 in benefits and salary, Halverson said. Halverson further informed the board the park district is seeking advertisers to cover the cost of the 2011 - 2012 Rails To Trails map. The district plans to print 20,000 maps this year and is offering advertisers a location notation on the map for an additional fee. Halverson said the map will be current through 2012 as no new construction is scheduled until at least 2013. The next construction project on the trail, completion of a tunnel under U.S. Route 62 near Glenmont, probably will not be underway until 2013 or 2014. The maps are distributed throughout locations in Holmes and Wayne counties, Halverson said.


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