“It demonstrates that the many services offered by National Trail are making a major impact,” district Director Leann Castillo said.
The city of Springfield has spent about $23 million on the combined parks and recreation district since 2001. Clark County has spent about $2.6 million.
Mayor Warren Copeland wants to see Clark County pay more — a 50-50 funding split. While the services are valuable, he said the city is having a hard time sustaining them.
About 75 percent of the people who participate in National Trail programs live outside the city limits, according to district records.
“We can’t continue to subsidize NTPRD for citizens who live outside of the city,” Copeland said. “We just can’t do it given our budget situation.”
Clark County Commissioner John Detrick wants to provide more money to National Trail but he said the county has a lot more budget requests than money.
“We’re going to have to prioritize it,” Detrick said. “We’re going to have to look at the big picture after all of our requests.”
Economic impact
National Trail maintains more than 1,300 acres of parks, 30 miles of roads and trails, 15 miles of river, 16 acres of ponds and lagoons, 20 acres of wetlands, two golf courses, Splash Zone Family Aquatic Center and Carleton Davidson Stadium.
It has an annual budget of about $4 million with 23 full-time employees and about 130 seasonal employees. The organization saw 100,000 program attendees and more than 1 million visitors at its parks this year, Castillo said.
The district receives about $965,000 annually from a recently renewed levy, which is designated for parks and green spaces. It cannot be used to pay for revenue-generating operations, like golf courses, Splash Zone or the NTPRD Chiller ice rink.
The economic impact data was compiled using the number of parks, acreage, facilities and revenue, Castillo said, as well as the number of homes in close proximity to parks and program attendees. It also uses tourism multipliers, which determine how much money a person may have spent during their time in the county. It was produced using a calculator from the National Parks and Recreation Association.
“All of these factors are calculated to produce the final estimated number,” Castillo said.
Clark County’s parks rank with almost any county in Ohio, said Chris Schutte, the director of Visit Greater Springfield, the local convention and visitor’s bureau.
From a quality of life standpoint, the parks may be one of the most important assets in the community, he said, and directly align with travel and tourism.
By building a community people want to live in, he said it also creates a community people will want to visit. Springfield and Clark County have several recreational amenities such as golf courses, bike trails, the EcoSports whitewater corridor, Buck Creek State Park and the Chiller.
“It’s amazing if you’re there on the weekends, you’ll see traveling teams coming in from Nashville, Detroit, Columbus,” Schutte said. “They’re coming in from all over to play hockey in downtown Springfield, Ohio. That’s a great thing.”
NTPRD has done a great job managing its parks and creating new amenities and programs, Schutte said. Since the Snyder Park Golf Course closed in early 2014, about $1.9 million has been spent transforming that area, including a new bridge, splash pad, accessible playground and dog park.
A community garden with a labyrinth, an observation tower and display gardens have also been planned for the former golf course. Most of the money for the projects has come from private donations.
“You see more things going on, especially in Snyder Park and Veterans Park,” Schutte said. “They’ve really taken that role on and they’ve generated so much more interest in those two places. They’re getting the community back into the parks.”
Clayton resident Christa Stewart was in Springfield with her daughter for a daytime Learn to Skate class at the NTPRD Chiller on Thursday morning.
“It’s worth the drive for us,” Stewart said. “We usually end up having lunch or we end up at the bakery or the mall. We end up spending two or three extra hours in town.”
Stewart’s children are home schooled, she said, and the Chiller is a great place for them to get some exercise. They’ve been coming for about a year.
“It’s affordable classes, really good teachers,” Stewart said. “The facility is kept really nice.”
Funding debate
National Trail is expected to receive an extra $150,000 from the city to balance its budget, bringing its total subsidy from Springfield to $1.1 million for this year. The district was projected to receive about $950,000.
Next year, the district will receive about $900,000 from the city.
It also will ask the county to increase its allocation from $125,000 to $325,500.
County commissioners received about $3 million in budget requests from county departments, Detrick said, but have about $1 million available.
He would like to see several city-county partnerships be completed, including a 9-1-1 combined dispatch center. But the county will have to prioritize its budget requests.
“I’d personally like to see it increase because the parks are important,” Detrick said.
NTPRD was created as a joint district by combining the city and county recreation departments and the Clark County Parks District about 15 years ago. That was done to serve everyone, Copeland said, and Clark County provided as much as $330,000 in the early 2000s.
The Clark County Parks District and NTPRD split again in 2009 due to finances after multiple failed levy attempts.
Clark County leaders have previously voiced concerns about the money being using for the golf operation. If the county gave more money, Copeland said it could be earmarked for certain operations.
If the county doesn’t increase its funding, the city could ask the park district to examine going to a tiered pricing system for city and county residents.
“It’s time for them to step up,” he said. “I’m hopeful they’ll do more next year.”
Golf Courses
While National Trail has made improvements in several areas such as the new playgrounds and more users at the pool, its golf courses have struggled this year.
Last year the district saw more than 36,900 rounds of golf played at its two courses at Reid Park. Through Nov. 29, the courses have had about 35,400 rounds played this year.
The courses saw about 1,100 rounds in early November, thanks to the warm weather. A mild December could help the district reach its goal, Castillo said.
The district stayed within its golf budget this year regarding expenses, she said, but it hasn’t been able to reach its projected income.
NTPRD will raise rates for both daily greens fees and cart fees by $1. It also raised the unlimited cart pass from $600 to $700. The district didn’t raise membership rates.
The city and National Trail will have to decide about the future of golf given the city’s own tight finances and having to cover a loss every year, Copeland said.
“It’s really a shame, but the reality is there are just not enough rounds of golf being played to support as many holes as there are in Clark County at this point,” he said.
The district hasn’t discussed closing Reid Park Golf Courses, Castillo said, but if funding were to be cut, it would have to make a tough decision.
The golf courses and Splash Zone cost the most to operate, so cuts likely would have to come from those places. At the same time, Splash Zone is the only public pool in Springfield.
“Golf is an important part of the recreation opportunities that we offer,” Castillo said. “As long as we are able to continue with that, we want to.”
Countywide organization
The district recently held free movie nights at different areas in Clark County, including Enon, South Charleston and Catawba, Castillo said, in order to extend its reach throughout Clark County.
The events were paid for through sponsorships, she said, and played a big role in making them more visible throughout Clark County. It’s also working to partner with local townships and villages on more programming.
“We’re working every day to make sure that everyone in the county knows we’re a countywide organization, that we’re here to serve all of them,” Castillo said.
The NTPRD board hasn’t discussed combining again with the Clark County Park District, she said, but other people in the community have talked about it. After the two districts split in 2009, they worked together to pass a shared levy in 2011 and a renewal in 2015.
National Trail and the county park district will collaborate on programming next year, Castillo said, and could possibly unite again down the road. CCPD has three full-time employees and a few part-time employees.
“It would be a smart thing to do,” Castillo said. “We’re offering the same types of programs, so why not be as efficient as we can?”
Clark County Park District Board Chairman Tim DeVore declined to comment about the districts consolidating.
Detrick would support a possible merger between the parks districts, he said.
“Any time we can consolidate government and continue to give better service, I think we need to do it,” he said.
By the numbers
$60 million: Amount of economic impact the National Trail Parks and Recreation District has on Clark County.
$4.2 billion: Amount of economic impact parks and recreation districts have on the Ohio economy.
34,000: Estimated number of jobs sustained by the parks and recreation industry in Ohio.
$1.9 million: Amount of money spent transforming Snyder Park with a new bridge, splash pad, accessible playground and dog park.
In-depth coverage
The Springfield News-Sun is committed to providing in-depth coverage of government spending, including recent stories digging into school levies and road construction costs.
About the Author
