By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Little towns all across the county have been able to add playgrounds and picnic tables thanks to grants from the Wood County Park District over the last 25 years.
Places that could never afford to add safety surfacing, backboards or soccer goals have turned to the district to help. This year, the grants will pay for improvements in 14 towns, including swings in Luckey, a scoreboard in Portage and bleachers in Jerry City.
“Very few communities have not been impacted,” said Jeff Baney, assistant director of the park district. “Some of these parks would not be here if it weren’t for this program.”
Baney explained the annual local park improvement grant program to the Wood County Park District board members during their meeting Tuesday afternoon at William Henry Harrison Park in Pemberville.
The park district started giving out local park grants in 1989 when the district passed its first levy. Over the years, the grant funding has grown from $50,000 to $100,000 each year. As he drives through the communities now, Baney said he sees several parks where every piece of equipment was purchased with park grants.
“A lot of these communities are so small,” that they rely on the park district for help, said Wood County Park District Director Neil Munger.
Wood County Park District meeting in shelter house at William Henry Harrison Park.
All communities in the county may apply each year for grants, and may also use the county park expertise to do playground safety inspections, Baney said. The park district puts an emphasis on playground safety, he said, noting that some of the sites “were frankly dangerous.”
“They get overwhelmed because playgrounds are so expensive,” Baney said. That’s where the park district comes in. “I’ve seen improvements in the outlying villages.”
The district gets about 20 applications each year, consistently adding up to more than $100,000.
“We’ve always had to pare it down,” Baney said, explaining that a three-member panel helps select the projects to receive funding.
“There’s always going to be projects that aren’t funded,” Munger said.
Safety projects often get the highest priority.
While many towns can’t afford matching dollars, they sometimes offer volunteer labor. “That’s a big old star for our panel” making the selections, Munger said.
Communities can submit requests for whatever items they feel are important. “We’ve always tried not to suggest specific projects,” Munger said. “We don’t want it to appear that we are handpicking projects.”
The projects that were initially selected for grants last fall received the funding Tuesday. Those projects are:
- Grand Rapids, $2,449 for asphalt repairs and a bench.
- Haskins, $9,999 for playground equipment and safety surfacing.
- Jerry City, $1,100 for bleachers.
- Lake Township, $8,006 for dog park equipment.
- Luckey, $3,150 for basketball backboards, park benches and swing seats.
- North Baltimore, $21,189 for playground equipment and surfacing.
- Perrysburg, $10,000 for shade structures.
- Perrysburg Township, $10,175 for bench, playground equipment and surfacing.
- Portage Township, $3,500 for a scoreboard.
- Risingsun, $1,460 for sealcoating of asphalt walking path.
- Rossford, $4,804 for multi-purpose court.
- Tontogany, $2,839 for playground equipment.
- Walbridge, $10,932 for picnic tables and soccer goal.
- Weston, $10,397 for playground equipment and surfacing.
In other business, naturalist Jim Witter gave a presentation on programming by the Wood County Park District. He noted the increased attendance at park programs in the last couple years.
The board also accepted a bid of $20,250 from Dunipace Builders, Bowling Green, for the roof replacement at the park district headquarters in Sugar Ridge.
The board agreed to move ahead on two projects at Carter Historic Farm, by accepting a bid of $23,500 to add an office off the Loomis community room in the house, and a bid of $16,500 to replace the roof on the house. Both bids were from Ridgetop Construction in Portage.
Bids were also accepted for a steel staircase to allow people to visit the bottom of Sawyer Quarry in Perrysburg Township. Swanton Welding and Machining was hired to fabricate the staircase for $19,600, and Ridgetop Construction was hired to construct the steps for $11,500.
Because the quarry’s natural features, the bottom will not be accessible to people unable to traverse the stairs. However, plans call for an overlook to be constructed for the quarry.
Also at the park district meeting, the board got a first look at the proposed revisions to park rules and regulations. The changes will be discussed at the next board meeting.
Among the changes, the park district would:
- Allow removal of edibles such as berries, mushrooms, nuts and fruits by park visitors. “There’s really no reason they can’t,” Munger said.
- Ban paint and water ball guns in the parks.
- Prohibit hitting golf balls in the parks.
- Prevent someone from taking up residency in a park by allowing no more than 14 days camping in a park.
- Included provisions for where hunting is permitted and where alcohol can be consumed.
- Set right-of-way rules for the Slippery Elm Trail, prompted by a serious injury caused last year by a bicyclist hitting a pedestrian. “Cyclists have to yield right-of-way to pedestrians,” Munger said.
- Allow motorized scooters only if they are legitimate mobility devices.
