City manager and park director urge voters to renew park levy on May 5

City Manager Brian Hec urged residents to support a renewal of the Clark County park levy on May 5, saying the measure is necessary to maintain the community’s parks and recreation services.

Leanne Castillo, director of the Clark County Park District, said the district’s first levy passed in 2011, was renewed in 2015 and that the district is now asking voters to approve another renewal. “We are asking for a renewal,” Castillo said, “that funds approximately 75% of our maintenance costs.”

Castillo said the renewal will not change the levy rate and is calculated from 2011 property valuations. She gave a taxpayer example: “It is approximately $21 for every $100,000 of value for your home,” she said, adding the charge is billed annually (about $42 for a $200,000 valuation).

Hec and Castillo framed the renewal as preserving core services rather than adding new spending. Hec said the levy supports upkeep of ball diamonds, soccer fields, tennis courts, trails and greenspace that the district maintains and urged listeners to vote yes on May 5: “I’m urging you to go out and vote yes on preserving our parks.”

Why it matters: Castillo and Hec said the levy supports the upkeep of 33 parks (about 2,100 acres), 52 athletic fields, 13 nature preserves, roughly 12 miles of river frontage and about 30 miles of bike trails. Without renewal, Castillo said the district would lose a substantial portion of its maintenance funding and capacity to operate those amenities.

Next steps: The renewal will appear on the May 5 ballot; speakers encouraged residents to read the activity guide and local voter information to confirm registration and polling details.