2016 Park Millage Renewal

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How Does Pittsfield Township's Tax Rate Compare?

• The City of Ann Arbor & Pittsfield Charter Township are the ONLY full service municipalities in Washtenaw County providing direct Police, Fire, Water, Sewer, Parks, and Recreation Services to the community.
• City of Ann Arbor's Park millage equivalent is 1.5773. Ypsilanti Township levies 1.0059 for Bike Paths & Recreation.
• The Pittsfield Township Total Tax Rate breaks down in the following way:  
  • General Fund: 4.1561 mills  
  • Parks: 0.4855 mills 
  • Public Safety: 1.9500 mills
    

2016-2026 Park Millage Projected Expenditures

Acquire Park/Green Space

• Purchase park lands close to residential neighborhoods, especially in regions that do not have access (northwest region) or very little access (northeast) to parks
• Expand conserved green spaces by partnering with property owners and regional partners (Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy and Ann Arbor Greenbelt)
• Partner with property owners to acquire land for local and organic farming in Pittsfield
• Strengthen partnership with Natural Area Preservation Program, established in 2013, to acquire more land around the Pittsfield Preserve and south of Michigan Avenue for preservation

Install Non-Motorized Facilities

Since 2009, Pittsfield has gone from having a sporadic sidewalk network and a non-existence of greenways and bike paths to a position where we have installed - using about $5 million in grants - about 6 miles of 10' greenways and a multitude of sidewalk gap-filling projects such that there is a seamless non-motorized network in the populated northwest and southeast parts of Pittsfield.

Furthermore, bike lanes have been added such that, for the first time, the eastern part of the township has non-motorized accessibility to the green/preserved spaces in the center and south of Pittsfield.

If the park millage renewal is approved, we will begin using those funds to further expand this non-motorized network, particularly to:

• Extend the 10' greenways south of Michigan Avenue along Platt Road and Moon Road
• Expand the sidewalk/greenway network throughout Pittsfield to provide better non-motorized access to
  parks and green spaces
• Provide better east-west connectivity of sidewalks and bike lanes along Ellsworth and connecting, via Stone School Road, to Morgan/Textile/Platt
• Improve non-motorized amenities along State Road and Michigan Avenue

Improve Park & Senior Amenities

• Expand the internal trail network at our existing parks
• Provide fitness trails at our parks
• Improve facilities for our seniors
• Improve/maintain athletic fields and pavilions at our parks
• Provide universal access at our parks, including to playscapes

* Park land acquisition & Preserve park improvements.
** In 2010, we refinanced the Preserve park debt, reducing debt amount by about $90,000 and outlining an aggressive principal payment schedule.
*** Preserve park debt will finally close out in 2017.

This information is provided in compliance with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act providing factual information concerning issues relevant to function of Pittsfield Charter Township (MCL 169.257 (1)(b)) and has not been communicated in violation of the act (MCL 169.257 (3))