Vote Yes For Duluth Parks

11/10/2022

Thank you for all of your support! Emily Larson, Duluth Mayors statement that she released this morning sums it all up well.

“Good morning! Today, like half of Duluth voters who supported parks, I am disappointed the parks levy question did not pass.

I am so incredibly proud of us as a community for asking this important question - and asking it when it was needed, not when it was politically convenient.

Despite a legally wonky question, a very short campaign window, political noise and it being a mid-term election, nearly half of all voters went with this. What that tells me is that the default, basic premise of funding public space and parks is a resonant, core value.

Even while people are hurting.

This is a time when every dollar makes a difference. Every financial decision in our households matter. Inflation is up. Groceries cost more. Gas, heat and the cost of living are high.

And still, this question performed well.

This also shows that every conversation, and every vote, matters.

The work to get this question that close has created important awareness and started a conversation that I am confident will continue.

As for next steps on out parks - our amazing Parks staff will continue to do important work with the resources we have, we will revisit strategies for future funding options and we will continue to be a city which prides itself on our green space and the way is holds a sense of place, and a sense of one another, together.“

11/05/2022

Join us at Bent Paddle Brewing Co. tonight from 6-8:30 pm! 🍻

Folks are encouraged to attend, or pick up a yard sign (they will be on hand) or pick up some campaign literature piece to drop off at doors if you're so inclined!

We will hear from a former Mayor Don Ness about why this Parks Levy is so important.

Rock the Vote for Parks 🎸

Come out and support our parks and listen to Indecent Proposal while enjoying a Bent Paddle beer!

10/24/2022

Want to support the Vote Yes for Duluth Parks campaign?

Sign up for a yard sign. https://bit.ly/helptheparks

Not sure you want a yard sign but want to help? There are other ways to help too here, https://bit.ly/helptheparks

This levy is incredibly important to ensure we increase the quality of our parks, not only this year but for the next 25 years, and we need your help!

10/23/2022

We’re back at Lake Superior Zoo for Boo at the Zoo! Handing out candy and talking parks.

It was a boo-tiful weekend! 👻

Remember: Vote Yes for Duluth Parks in November!

10/16/2022

Thank you to all of the volunteers who hung out with us at Boo at the Zoo this weekend!

Also, thank you to Lake Superior Zoo who was the ghostess with the mostest. 👻

It was fa-boo-lous to meet Boo at the Zooers from all parts of Duluth! If the Park Levy passes, all Duluth neighborhoods will receive new Park Levy money if passed.

10/16/2022

10/14/2022

Duluth Park Fun Fact: Duluth has 168 parks!

Which Duluth park is your neighborhood park?

Your neighborhood will receive new Park Levy money if passed. The Levy money is required to be spent equally across the City of Duluth per the Duluth City Council.

10/04/2022

"Duluth is home to 162 parks, 9,168 park acres, and 353 miles of trails. That breaks down to 106 park acres per 1,000 residents."

🤯

- Duluth News Tribune

From the column: "I’m looking at this parks-levy (ballot) question from a community-based lens and ask that you do as well."

10/04/2022

What is the "Parks Fund Levy"?

When the $2.6M levy was first collected in 2012, that translated to a levy rate of .0472654% of taxable property value. In the ensuing decade, the value of taxable property in Duluth has increased substantially, while the annual proceeds of the Parks Fund Levy have remained capped at $2.6M.

As a result, the Park Fund Levy rate has dropped by more than a third from the original .0472654% to a rate that will be .0290052% in 2023 if no change is made. The proposed increase to the Parks Fund levy will restore the levy rate to the original .0472654% and keep it there for the next 25 years.

The current Park Fund levy of $2.6 million is approximately 40% of the funding currently required to operate Duluth’s park system at its current level of service.

The proposed change to the Park Fund levy would solve this problem by changing the basis of the levy from a fixed dollar amount to a fixed percentage of property value.

The change would make it possible for the proceeds of the Park Fund levy to grow over time with new development and increasing property values so as to keep pace with inflationary increases in the cost of operating and maintaining Duluth parks.

The proceeds of the Park Fund levy shall only be used to support Duluth Parks and Recreation facilities and programs. (Per Minnesota law and Duluth City Code Section 20-29.)

Learn more,

As we all know too well, the cost of everything increases over time. Just as the cost to buy a gallon of milk goes up over time so too does the cost to replace a playground. In contrast, the Park Fund levy was established at a fixed dollar amount of $2.6 million that can never grow. The result is a....