LISBON — The Columbiana County Park District is asking voters to help maintain the Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail and other park properties through a .10-mill, five-year tax levy on the Nov. 5 ballot.

This will be the park board’s fourth attempt to secure funding to care for the parks and trails, but this time the request is smaller, which board members hope the residents will support.

If approved, the countywide levy is expected to generate $258,000 per year, costing the owner of a home valued at $100,000 a total of $3.50 per year, or just $1.75 per half, according to the county Auditor’s Office. The most recent levy denied by voters in March was for .35 mills and would have generated $890,000 per year.

After the loss, park board chairman Eileen Dray-Bardon said she and fellow board members talked to people about what they were hearing as the reason for the levy going down again. The consensus was that based on the park district’s current income, the amount for that levy “seemed like a pretty big increase,” she said.

As a result, they decided to ask for a smaller amount.

“At a minimum, we need to preserve and protect what we’ve got,” Dray-Bardon said. “That smaller millage will allow us to do that.”

Next year will be the 25th anniversary of the Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail maintained by the park district, covering 15 miles of paved trail stretching from Washingtonville, through Leetonia and stretching through Lisbon.

The district also operates Scenic Vista Park which covers 250-plus acres in Center Township and includes an 18-hole disc golf course, hiking trails and pavilion, Hellbender Bluff Park covering 752 acres in Madison Township and the historical Ohio Supreme Court meeting site marker on state Route 7 in Fairfield Township.

Looking at all of the park district’s assets, Dray-Bardon said a lot has been invested and the parks and trails are popular. Repairs are needed to the Greenway trail, the disc golf course at Scenic Vista and the BMX pump track at Hellbender.

The only definite money the park district receives comes from $15,000 received annually from the Local Government Fund. The district does not receive any money from the county general fund from commissioners, although commissioners have helped at times with American Rescue Plan Act funds for specific projects. Several years ago, the park district board acquired oil and gas lease money, but that money is dwindling. The district also relies upon grant funding and donations, with assistance coming from the Friends of the Park.

Next year’s budget was estimated at $85,000, which Dray-Bardon said is the bare minimum. There’s about $100,000 left in the fund and at the end of 2025, there won’t be much left.

The park district is asking residents throughout the county to support the parks and protect the trails and parks in place.

Dray-Bardon said the parks and the Greenway trail are a valuable asset, both to the quality of life and particularly to the county. When people visit, they spend money.

“It’s an economic driver for the county,” board member Tom Butch said.

He also said that when companies are looking at places to locate, they look for quality of life assets.

The park district recently had a clean financial audit, with no recommendations from the state. Meetings of the park district are public, held at 3:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the office at 130 Maple Street, Lisbon.

If the levy fails, Dray-Bardon and Butch indicated some difficult decisions will lie ahead regarding maintenance and public access to county park properties, including the Greenway trail. Without more income, the park district won’t have matching funds to secure grants.

The levy, if approved, will support maintenance of the Greenway trail and repairs to culverts and infrastructure for the trail, maintenance of the disc golf course at Scenic Vista, maintenance of 7 miles of hiking trails at Hellbender Bluff, maintenance of pavilions at Scenic Vista and Hellbender Bluff, purchase and upkeep of equipment necessary to maintain the park properties and personnel costs for maintenance and office staff. Board members do not get paid.

“Protect our trails,” Dray-Bardon asked voters.