On this episode of Behind the Byline, host Jaden Jefferson has a conversation with Matt Killam about Issue 8, a renewal operating levy on the May 6 primary ballot.
This issue replaces the current property tax levy for the Metropolitan Park District of the Toledo Area (Metroparks Toledo) before the old levy expires in 2028. The levy is for “operating, improving, conserving and protecting” parks and Metropark lands.
Killam, the Metroparks Toledo’s chief external relations officer, talks about:
- what the levy will do for Toledo Metroparks, and how much it will cost Lucas County voters
- caring for 19 parks and 13,000 acres, and maintaining the “best park system in the country”
- an upcoming Ohio house bill, if passed, will take away the ability to use the word “replacement” in the levy language
- the value of the Metroparks’ green space and conservation efforts
- how the Toledo Metroparks got started and where it’s going from here
New episodes of the Behind the Byline drop every Wednesday on the Pod Station.
Behind the Byline is a production of the Toledo Free Press.
