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Heath council approves Parks and Trails of Heath (PATH) fundraising committee
Summary
The Heath City Council voted unanimously to establish the Parks and Trails of Heath (PATH) fundraising committee, an advisory group to solicit private donations for parks and trail projects; the committee will be advisory-only and donations will be handled through the city treasury.
The Heath City Council unanimously approved a resolution on Aug. 12 establishing the Parks and Trails of Heath (PATH) fundraising committee, an advisory group intended to solicit private donations for park, trail and civic-beautification projects.
The PATH committee will be advisory only and will not accept or spend funds directly, Justin Holland, the newly elected parks board chairman, told the council. The parks board and city council retain final approval over recommended priorities and use of donated funds, and all donations will be deposited into the city treasury, Holland said.
Holland described the committee’s purpose as engaging Heath residents and businesses to support parks and trails without placing additional strain on municipal resources. He cited recent private contributions to City Hall beautification and to covered sport courts — including a $200,000 gift from Kathy and Bob Tolbert and a $30,000 anonymous donation for City Hall repairs — as examples of the kinds of private support PATH will pursue.
The proposed committee will have no membership cap but members must be Heath residents. Appointments will be made by the park board and city council to staggered two-year terms; the city manager and the park board chair will serve as ex officio members. Meetings will be held on an ad hoc basis and the city staff will maintain a public project list consistent with the parks master plan and the city’s capital improvement program, Holland said.
Council members discussed planning coordination and the need for a PATH donations policy. City staff said they will bring a donations policy forward for council review that will define how noncash gifts (for example, stock) and other contributions are handled and when council approval is required.
The motion to adopt the resolution carried unanimously. Council members did not identify any dissenting conditions when they voted to approve the PATH committee as presented.
The council also thanked outgoing and current park board members and called out the PATH program’s history of smaller recurring gifts alongside larger legacy donations as part of the city’s park funding mix.
