DAYTON–In the upcoming General Election November 8, 2022, Columbia County voters will decide whether or not to form a Joint Metropolitan Park District with the intent to improve recreational opportunities and facilities that might be enabled through the more stable and adequate funding provided by a general property tax of 75¢ per $1,000 of assessed valuation on unincorporated areas of Columbia County and within the incorporated areas of the City of Dayton.

On the same General Election Ballot are 14 names of candidates for five Joint Metropolitan Park District (JMPD) Commissioners, from which voters will make their selections in the event the JMPD is approved by a simple majority.

Each of the five commissioner districts have at least two candidates vying for the post, according the Deputy Auditor Cathy Abel. The districts are all non-partisan, "at large" and are not defined by geographical boundaries.

Should voters reject the formation of the JMPD, the outcome of the election of commissioners will be null and void, Abel said.

During the August 22-24 filing period the following candidates threw their hats in the ring:

District 1-Charles Levy, 216 E. Tremont St.; Dianne McKinley, 105 Eager Rd.; and Morgan Poche, 603 N. Cottonwood St.

District 2-Lisa Naylor, P. O. Box 196; and Melissa Bryan, 812 E. Clay St.

District 3-David Schreck, 309 S. 3rd St.; Ted Lowe, 316 Turner Rd.; and Paige Aukerman, 205 W. Dayton Ave.

District 4-Marjorie Lowe, P. O. Box 205; Chris Slack, 915 S. 3rd St.; Paula Murdock, 239 Smith Hollow Rd.; and Robert Yost, 202 W. Commercial.

District 5-Carol Anderson, 809 E. Tremont St.; and Tony Aukerman, 300 S. 1st St.

When the election is certified, Abel said, the candidate who received the most votes, regardless of commissioner district, will be appointed to a five-year term. The remainder of candidates in that commissioner district are no longer in consideration for a commissioner position.

Of the four commissioner districts remaining, the next highest vote-receiving candidate is also appointed to a five-year term for the district for which she or he filed. As with the first position, the remaining candidates in that district are out of the running.

The third-highest vote getter is the next appointee, this time to a three-year term, and, as before, that candidate's opponents in that particular district, are out. This process repeats for the fourth commissioner district.

In the fifth and final commissioner district, the top vote-receiving candidate is appointed to a one-year term.

In the event the JMPD is formed, in the 2023 election, that fifth-place commissioner may file for re-election, and others my file to oppose him or her, and the person elected will then serve a six-year term. As other initial three- or five-year terms expire and are decided by voters, the commissioners' terms will subsequently be six-year terms, Abel said.

Voters who may not wish to support formation of the JMPD are urged to vote for the commissioner candidates of their choice, Abel said, in the event the measure is approved.

The Town of Starbuck opted out of the JMPD.