The Granville Recreation District is asking voters to renew a 5-year, 0.75 mill levy – originally passed in 2020 – during the May 6 primary election.
If passed, the 0.75-mill levy would raise $428,000 annually. Property owners would continue to pay about $18 per $100,000 of property value each year – or $1.50 per month. In Granville, the average home is valued at about $496,000, meaning residents would pay around $90 per year to support rec district programs such as the popular Concert on the Green series; drivers education classes and training; youth sports; clubs and camps.
In 2024, GRD saw a record year in programming, with over $600,000 in program revenue and about 3,500 new registrations.
And as Granville’s population continues to grow, GRD hopes to expand its programming opportunities to meet the increasing enrollment.
“If there’s a need and people want a certain program, so we have interest, a location to do it, and can find an instructor… we will never say no on a program,” said Andy Wildman, executive director of GRD.
Since Wildman began with the rec district in 2010, community engagement has grown significantly. GRD passed its first levy in 2009, which supported the newly autonomous government organization. In November 2020, GRD introduced a levy of 0.75 mills, which a majority of district voters supported. That levy is set to expire at the end of 2025.
In the past five years, funds generated by the levy have allowed GRD to invest in both capital improvements and operation expenses.
On the operational side, GRD used funding to create a sustainable medical benefits plan, retain employees, increase programming and maintain equipment, Wildman said. Investment in new equipment has allowed the maintenance team, led by Bobby Vahalik, to increase efficiency.
“What used to take his team a week to paint lacrosse fields now takes one day,” Wildman said.
In 2022, to increase the lifespan of new equipment, a new climate-controlled maintenance facility was built in Racoon Valley Park on River Road. In the fall of 2023, GRD completed a $713,093 project which paved parking lots at Raccoon Valley Park and Wildwood Park, on West Broadway.
In December 2023, that $713,093 was stolen when a bad actor gained access to an email thread between the vendor and lender, resulting in the money being wired elsewhere, Wildman said. The telecommunications fraud is still under investigation, but no taxpayer money has gone toward that loss, Wildman said.
“Our goals were to not spend any taxpayer money” to replace the stolen funds, Wildman said. “We have received reimbursement from all of our costs at this point.”
GRD will continue to work with insurance and legal counsel, and it remains committed to not letting the theft affect programming, Wildman said. The levy renewal, he said, should keep the rec district moving in a good direction.
“This funding is extremely important to keep the rec district on the trajectory that it’s going,” Wildman said. “I think almost all of our board members – almost our entire staff – lives in the rec district. We take the fiscal responsibility extremely seriously.”
Some ongoing projects that will be supported by the levy include an updated Rotary Pavilion – built in partnership with the Rotary Club of Granville, which committed $100,000 toward its construction – with concessions and restrooms at Racoon Valley Park and new pickleball courts. These projects were not completed previously due to a combination of increased project costs and inflation, and the moving of the GRD office from the school district office building to a new district office on the second floor of the St. Luke’s Parish House on South Main Street in Granville, Wildman said.
Alongside these improvements, GRD plans to redo the safety surface at the Wildwood Park playground, invest in maintenance equipment, continue with the support staff and medical benefits for employees and continue to meet growing community needs as they arise.
The safety surface at Wildwood is a pour-in-place surface that was added to the playground in 2017, according to the rec district’s FAQ page about the levy. The average life expectancy of the surface, GRD said, is about 8-10 years, depending on foot traffic and usage.
“I think the rec district is for everybody in the community. That’s the important thing,” Trustee Ed Hock said. “When you have kids, yes, it’s youth sports. But if you stay in Granville and grow up in Granville, so to speak, there are programs for everyone.”
Community favorites like the Concert on the Green, the annual Easter egg hunt and a community garden at Wildwood Park are a few of the initiatives GRD supports with the levy.
“So many people moved to Granville because of the community, and part of what makes the community so great is the rec district, because it does serve everybody,” Trustee Kirsten Fox said.
Early voting began on Tuesday, April 8, at the board of elections office at 20 S. 2nd Street in Newark. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays through April 25, 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. from April 28-May 2, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 3, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, May 4. On Election Day, May 6, polls will be open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
To learn more about the levy, visit the GRD website.
This story was updated at 12:40 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, to clarify details related the telecommunication fraud incident in 2023.
Mia Fischel writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.