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Supporters urge yes vote on Anderson Park District replacement levy during public comment
Summary
A volunteer co‑chair for the Anderson Park levy told the board the park district needs operating funds that cannot come from a recent capital levy and urged residents to vote for a 1.8‑mill replacement levy on Nov. 4.
Anne Zimmerman, co‑chair of the committee to pass the Anderson Park levy, urged the Forest Hills School District Board during the meeting’s public comment period on Aug. 17 to support the Anderson Park District’s replacement operating levy on the Nov. 4 ballot.
Zimmerman said the proposed levy is a 1.8‑mill replacement that reduces the current levy rate of 1.9 mills and is intended to fund parks operations — not capital projects. “To operate, maintain the fields, pay staff, and run programs, the park district relies on the operating levies that it has had in effect for decades,” she said, adding that revenue from the capital levy passed in February 2023 may not be used for operations.
Zimmerman described close ties between the Anderson Park District and Forest Hills schools, saying youth programs “serve as a feeder system into our school teams” and that Turpin and Anderson high school teams use Clear Creek, Riverside and Veterans Park for practices and games. She said a levy failure would cause the parks to “lose their main source of revenue next year” and could jeopardize maintenance and programs.
Zimmerman provided campaign contact information and a website, preserveandersonparks.org, and said she would return to the board to discuss additional connections between the park district and schools. Board members and staff asked about social media and campaign outreach; Zimmerman said volunteers were building a web presence, ordering signs and establishing social accounts.
No board action was taken on the levy during the meeting; the remarks were part of the public participation portion of the agenda under policy PO 0169.1.
