Letter: Portage Parks is a small investment with a big return

Editor’s note: The Portager publishes letters to the editor from the community. The opinions expressed are published not because they necessarily reflect those of the publication but because we feel they contribute meaningfully to the local discourse on matters of public interest.

As volunteers for the Citizens for Portage Parks Campaign Committee, we strongly believe in the quality of life that our Portage Parks bring to our county. Having passed the first levy in 2014, we have seen what the levy dollars can do to enhance our county. During the last 10 years, we’ve seen four new parks open, improved parks and trails, and hundreds of free programs offered for all ages and abilities.

During the last 10 years, the Portage Park District has earned over a 60% return on your tax levy investment through grants and donations and acquired an additional 1,335 acres of land. Attendance in our parks skyrocketed during COVID providing a safe place for families and friends to gather. The Parks were there for us—we need to be there for them because 95% of the Portage Park District operations budget come from the levy. If we don’t have the levy — we don’t have our parks.

The investment that we are asking voters to consider on Issue 31 on Nov. 7 is $2.92 per $100,000 house value per month. This is such a small investment when you think about the big return that our Portage Parks provide for our community.

For more information about the accomplishments made during the last 10 years and other information about the levy, please visit: https://citizensforportageparks.com.

Join us and vote YES on Issue 31 on Nov. 7.

For our families. For our community. For our future.

Let’s keep a good thing growing.

Sincerely,

Sally Kandel, Chair

Jane Ramson, Treasurer

Andrea Metzler

Christine Craycroft

Don Schjeldahl

Ed Butch

Erin Latina

George Rose

Jane Preston Rose

Jennifer White

Linda Seeman

Nancy Schiappa

Virginia Shaw

+ posts

The Portager publishes a range of opinions from the community. To submit a letter to the editor, write to [email protected].