It would be hard to imagine Oxford Township without its 510 acres of park land or its myriad of recreational programs for people of all ages.

The township’s four parks provide folks with access to open spaces, fresh air, wildlife, lakes, playgrounds, trails and plenty of opportunities to play sports ranging from soccer and softball to disc golf and tennis.

The recreational programs provide folks with fun activities that allow them to socialize with others, learn new things and keep their minds and bodies active in an increasingly sedentary world.

Every day in a variety of ways, the Oxford Township Parks and Recreation Department enhances the quality of life for township and village residents.

That’s why we wholeheartedly support the department’s 15-year, 1-mill operating tax proposal and urge voters to say YES on Nov. 6.

The proposal is a renewal coupled with a slight increase that will help enable the department to operate the new senior center currently under construction in Seymour Lake Park.

The department’s current operating tax is 0.8234 mill and scheduled to expire with the December 2019 levy. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.

If voters approve the Nov. 6 proposal, the current tax would be scrapped and the new one levied in its place, meaning property owners would begin paying 1 mill this year.

The majority of the revenue generated by this proposed tax would be used to continue funding everything the parks and recreation department currently offers.

Part of the 0.1766-mill increase would be used to staff, operate and maintain the new 3,126-square-foot senior center when completed.

The new center will finally give local senior citizens a place of their own to gather, socialize, recreate and volunteer on a daily basis. We want to see our seniors active, happy and enjoying life to the fullest, not sitting at home feeling trapped, isolated and bored.

In this community, we devote a lot of time, energy and resources to serving youth and families. The focus always seems to be on them.

We need to do more for our seniors and stop treating them like, at best, second-class citizens, and at worse, burdens to be humored and tolerated.

They worked hard. They raised us. They sacrificed for us. They helped build the world we live in.

They deserve our respect and gratitude because they earned it. They deserve to be viewed as valuable members of society.

Building this senior center and approving this slight tax increase to run it is a good start – and frankly, something that’s long overdue. We need to take care of our seniors the way they took care of us. We owe it to them. — CJC

Editor’s Note: In order to be consistent with our election letters policy in the print edition, we will not be allowing any online comments related to the Nov. 6 general election. Per our policy, we did not publish any election-related letters after the Oct. 24 edition. Given this, it would not be fair or ethical to allow people to circumvent this policy by posting election-related comments online. Thank you for understanding.