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Gahanna Parks & Recreation reports 2025 event totals, ODNR grant and OpenGov permit rollout
Summary
Staff told the Parks & Recreation Board that Paddle Gahanna recorded 644 paddle-boat rentals and 161 kayak rentals in 2025, the department secured an ODNR boating-safety grant (just over $18,000), launched the first-year Gahanna Market, and is moving special-event permitting to OpenGov to streamline cross‑department notifications.
Gahanna Parks & Recreation staff presented a year-end review to the Parks & Recreation Board on programming, fundraising and operational changes for 2025 and previewed plans for 2026.
Chelsea Hepper, recreation supervisor who oversees special events and paddle programming, said Paddle Gahanna employed 21 seasonal staff this year and recorded 644 paddle‑boat rentals and 161 kayak rentals, producing gross sales of about $8,000 in 2025 compared with roughly $9,500 in 2024. “We experienced a particularly rainy summer, so there were quite a few days where we had to close operations,” Hepper said, offering weather as a main factor in the decline.
Hepper and Tyler Wilson, who works on the community events and volunteer team, said the department expanded kayak programming (three creek floats in 2025 and four evening ‘celestial paddles’ with 38…
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