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DELAWARE — There are over 65 parks across Delaware County that are managed by cities, townships and the county-wide Preservation Parks district.
Bigger cities, including Delaware, Powell, Sunbury, Dublin and Westerville, have dedicated parks and recreations departments that operate under the city government.
Townships typically manage their parks with township trustees, maintenance departments and/or parks committees overseeing their maintenance, as seen in Concord and Berkshire Townships.
However, Liberty Township has a dedicated parks department to manage its eight parks and Orange Township’s operation department manages eight parks.
Regardless of the management structure, the parks all seek to accomplish the same goal: providing residents and visitors with dedicated and enjoyable outdoor spaces.
So, do they ever work together to reach those goals? Yes and no.
A symbiotic relationship
“We don’t really compete with each other,” Delaware City Parks and Recreation Department Director Ted Miller said about the Preservation Parks district.
That’s because the two entities operate different kinds of parks, Miller said. City parks focus on establishing mostly “active” parks, which include ball fields, splash pads, playgrounds, the golf course, the pool, etc.
Whereas the Preservation Parks mostly operates “passive” parks, which Miller described as the nature preserves and trails.
“Compared to other city and county operations, our parks districts really get along well,” Miller said.
This symbiotic relationship allows Delaware County residents to enjoy different kinds of parks without an overload of too many trails or open fields.
The two park districts have not historically worked together to collaborate on establishing a new park, Miller said, but they recognize opportunities to connect parks where it makes sense.
“If we can put a city park next to a county park, that works great for everyone,” he said.
Miller pointed to Liberty Township’s Havener Park and Preservation Park’s Deer Haven Preserve, which share a main access driveway and connected walking trails.
The two complement each other well, with Havener boasting soccer fields and active space and Deer Haven offering trails through preserved woodlands and wetlands.
Preservation Parks Senior Planner Matt Simpson said during the early stages of planning a new park, he reaches out to public officials to tell them about his ideas and ask for theirs.
Simspon said he’s always looking to provide “connectivity,” pointing to Hogback Ridge Park’s trail that connects to Alum Creek State Park and using Orange Township’s existing trail system to connect to theirs at McCammon Creek Park.
“Some smaller townships don’t have planners, so they sometimes contact us about how to incorporate trails in township. We meet with them and see how it can fit into our bigger picture, or what makes sense, and we assist where we can,” Simpson said.
In the future, Miller wants to similarly connect a city park to the Gallant Woods Preserve via a mile and a half trail.
Miller said the two entities do share other resources, such as bringing in a Preservation Parks naturalists for outdoor programs because the city does not have any on staff.
“There is a demand for it, people want to see those in the city parks,” Miller said, but funding restrictions prevents the city from having its own naturalist.
Residents’ demands guide park development
Ultimately, Delaware city residents guide city park development because they are the ones who pay for its operation through a 0.15% income tax. Voters passed the levy in 2024.
The parks and recreation department sent out a survey in 2025 to further understand residents’ parks wants. It found residents want more park programming, family friendly events and concerts and more communication about events.
The department has already started working to create those programs and events, with more promotion online and on social media.
The same is true for the Preservation Parks District, which is funded through two property tax levies: a 10-year renewal of 0.6 mill plus increase at 0.3 mill levy that voters passed in 2017 and a 10-year additional levy of 0.4 mill that was passed in 2021.
This was a county-wide issue, so all Delaware County residents pay for the tax, which allows the park district to operate, acquire land, develop existing parks, maintain them and pay park staffers.
“It is a goal for us to be geographically present throughout the county so that every resident in this county has access to one of our parks in a short-ish drive,” Preservation Parks Director Mary Mary Van Haaften said.
She said the public is always invited to open houses to provide input on conceptual park plans, and for those who can’t make it, there is always a virtual comment period.
