Although much attention has been directed at the development of Glass City Metroparks in east Toledo, projects continue to be undertaken throughout the district’s 21 parks.
At the July 19 park board meeting, Nate Ramsey, chief operations officer; Jen Van Horn, chief park planning and capital projects officer; and Zuri Carter, deputy chief of natural resources, provided the park commissioners with an update on activities.
“There has been a lot going on,” Mr. Ramsey said, noting the purpose of the presentation is to review activities at the parks.
“We have some fairly significant projects going at many parks,” he added.
Ms. Carter said in the eastern region, work continues on the second portion of Howard Marsh, and at Pearson, tennis courts are being renovated with half of them being converted into pickleball courts, a sport which is growing in popularity.
Ms. Van Horn said parks in the central region also are undergoing work. At Swan Creek, a connector trail is under development and the playground is being resurfaced.
At Toledo Botanical Garden, the buildings are being “refreshed,” and at Brookwood, the suspension bridge over Swan Creek was constructed.
In addition, at Wildwood Preserve, the blue trail is being repaired with 2,300 feet of new boardwalk.
In the western region, Mr. Ramsey said, work continues on the expansion and habitat restoration, and in Oak Openings the H2O wetland restoration continues.
At Cannaley Treehouse Village, one of the buildings has been converted from a community center to overnight lodging, and restrooms were installed for guests. The archery range at Westwinds park also was relocated.
To maintain the park system’s natural resources, a number of projects have been undertaken including ditch restoration at Blue Creek, habitat restoration at Audubon Island, canal dredging at Providence and the conversion to office space of a home at Jerome Road near the Fallen Timbers Battlefield.
At Farnsworth Park in Waterville, the Roche de Boeuf overlook is getting a makeover with markers explaining the history of the interurban bridge.
“We also do $750,000 per year in maintenance. This is the day in, day out work we do each year,” said Ms. Van Horn.
Park commissioner Fritz Byers thanked the staff for the presentation, noting that “this shows we continue to preserve and improve parks throughout our system.”
Other Business
In other business, the park board:
•Approved a contract increase with Bergmann Inc. for architecture and engineering services at the Glass City Riverwalk and BUILD project. The contract now includes a construction contingency totaling $597,247. The cost of the project is expected to be $6,569,717.
•Authorized Allen Gallant, director of community development, to seek a Transportation Alternatives Program grant of up to $1.5 million through the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments.
The funding would go toward construction of a trail at International Park and requires a 20 percent match, Mr. Gallant explained.
•Increased a contract amount with New Era Technology from $174,600 to $192,000. The additional funding is needed to expand the IT network to accommodate Glass City Enrichment Center, the Jerome Road office, Toledo Botanical Garden office expansion and WiFi network expansion.
•Approved a construction and maintenance agreement with the city of Maumee for a new path connection from Side Cut park to the sidewalk on West Wayne Street.
“The path will close a gap in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure and facilitate safer, more accessible travel between the park and adjacent neighborhood,” said Jessica Hyde, landscape architect.
•Amended a leasing agreement with Black Swamp Cattle Company for the 2023 season, adding 13.5 acres to the grazing area.
The agreement permits the company to “mow, tend, rake and bale the additional demised premises for use of removed material by cattle.”
•Agreed to submit a grant application to the North American Wetlands Conservation Act for the western Lake Erie coastal project. The park board is partnering with 13 agencies on the grant and is submitting as its local match, land acquisitions and restoration work totaling $2.78 million.
•Amended the estimated resources and appropriations to reflect the receipt of more than $2.5 million state and federal grants received.
•Paid bills for May and June totaling $8.47 million.
The next board meeting will be at 8:30 a.m., Wednesday, August 23, and is open to the public. The meeting location has yet to be determined.
