Delta library, 6 other area levies approved

Waterville zoning initiative OK’d

Eliana Kilyard, 5, pulls a pretend worm across her arm as she lis-tens to a reading of ‘Worms for Lunch’ at the Delta Public Library. Voters on Tuesday approved a 2-mill levy to support the library.

The Delta Public Library will be stocking its shelves with new books, movies, and music after voters in the Pike-Delta-York school district agreed Tuesday to double their financial support.

The library had sought to replace a 1-mill levy already on the books and add another mill for five years. The 2-mill levy, which is expected to bring in some $330,000 a year, will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $60 annually.

Library officials said the additional tax support was needed in light of cuts in state funding to local libraries that have caused it to reduce staff and its budget for library materials.

“The fact is, the money received from the state is not enough to keep the library open. It is not enough to cover utilities, building maintenance, building insurance, payroll,” said Jennifer Harkey, the library’s fiscal officer. “We rely on the operational levy to keep the doors open.”

In Waterville, voters approved an initiative intended to change the zoning of an apartment complex under construction. While the vote effectively rezones the parcel at 8375 Waterville-Monclova Rd. from multifamily residential to single-family residential, it does not alter the construction of 14 two-unit buildings known as Kensington Garden Apartments. It only will affect what could be built on the property.

Backers of the initiative had tried to get a referendum on the ballot as a companion measure that would have overturned Waterville City Council’s Oct. 8 vote to change the site plan for the property to permit apartments rather than condominiums. The city refused to submit the referendum to the elections board, and Lucas County Common Pleas Judge James Bates agreed with the city that council’s vote on the matter was not subject to referendum.

Also Tuesday, Bowling Green city voters renewed a three-year, 1.4-mill levy that brings in more than $636,000 a year for parks and recreation. The levy costs the owner of a $100,000 home just under $43 a year.

In Sandusky County, voters again rejected a five-year, 0.8-mill levy that would have paid for mental health services for residents through the Seneca-Sandusky-Wyandot County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board.

The levy, which would have brought in about $900,000 a year, would have paid for services only in Sandusky County. The other two counties have passed and renewed their own tax issues.

Henry County voters agreed to replace a five-year, 2-mill levy for the county’s Board of Developmental Disabilities. The replacement levy is expected to generate about $1.2 million a year, up from the $900,000 or so the current levy brings in. It will cost the owner of a home valued at $100,000 just under $24 a year.

Voters in the Bellevue school district, which encompasses parts of Erie, Huron, Sandusky, and Seneca counties, approved a 28-year, 0.67-mill bond issue that will generate $2.8 million to expand and renovate the Bellevue Public Library.

The bond issue will cost the owner of a home valued at $80,000 just under $17 a year.

Also Tuesday:

● Fulton County voters overwhelmingly approved both a five-year, 0.7-mill renewal for operation of the 911 system and a 10-year, 0.5-mill renewal of the county health district levy.

● Gorham Township voters in Fulton County approved an additional five-year, 2-mill levy for the fire department.

● Voters in the Wood County village of Bradner approved an additional five-year, 2-mill levy for parks and recreation.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-213-2134.