By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
A variety of capital improvement projects have spruced up the Wood County parks in the first half of 2024.
A heated ramp at W.W. Knight Nature Preserve was added in front of the Nature Center, in Perrysburg, Andrew Kalmar, assistant director of the Wood County Park District, reported at the July Board of Commissioners meeting.
The hydronic heating system includes coils in the cement leading up to the building that pump a glycol liquid to heat the ramp.
“No more shoveling, no more salt,” Kalmar said, and the system is extremely low maintenance. The system has been tested and inspected, “but we will see how it actually works later this fall.”
Paving at William Henry Harrison Park in Pemberville was recently completed using funds provided by the state legislature. Every two years, the state legislature provides funds for parks in the state. Wood County had not spent the full allotment–approximately $62,000 every two years–and used the funds to pave Harrison this year and a good proportion of the lot at Knight Preserve last year, Kalmar said.
Originally, the contractor had planned to mill the top inch from the existing pavement but decided that the pavement underneath could not withstand the weight of the milling machine.
“They paved everything, and it looks beautiful,” Kalmar said. As a result of adding to the height of the pavement, there are some low areas that will be filled in with soil the contractor will provide in September.
The kitchen at Thompson Stone Hall at Otsego Park has been completely renovated. The district’s construction department added new countertop and upgraded the cabinets by removing some of the doors and painting them. A new refrigerator and microwave had previously been added during the past year, he said.
Also at Otsego Park, siding and trim repairs to the operations garage spruced up the nearly 30-year-old garage. The operations team will finish the job by painting the garage.
Upgrades completed at the Rudolph Bike Park included adding arrows for improved visibility and filling cracks and asphalt maintenance, “which is an ongoing effort to me make sure the trail stays in shape,” Kalmar explained.
Also, wayfinding signs have been installed at Knight preserve, and benches have been added at Carter Historic Farm, Harrison Park, Knight Preserve and along Slippery Elm Trail.
Projects still planned for this year are refurbishing the Rudolph rest station on the Slippery Elm Trail, improving the stone trails at Knight Preserve and Cedar Creek Preserve, updating the playground surface at Otsego Park and replacing windows in the house at Sawyer Quarry, which is where the naturalists’ offices are located.
A statutory budget of nearly $4.4 million was approved by the board. The budget, which includes a 3% cost of living adjustment, is provided first to the Wood County Budget Commission. Director Christopher Smalley will meet with the commission in August and the auditor will confirm the numbers before it is finalized.
“The 3% COLA is appropriate given the inflationary pressures we’ve seen over the last couple of years and what that is,” said park Commissioner Jonathan Smith.
“We value what each of you do,” said Becca Ferguson, board president. “We wish we could do more, but at this time, this is very reasonable.”
The largest expenditures in the proposed budget are $2.06 million for salaries, $379,550 for contract services, $300,000 for capital improvements, $378,000 for employee health insurance and $339,760 for Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.
“These are placeholder budgets that will develop and change over the next several months,” Smalley said.
In other business, the board:
–Authorized Smalley to dispose of six surplus items: 14 folding tables that have been in the basement at Otsego Park, a canoe, a 2010 Ford 3DC shuttle bus, a 2016 Dodge pickup truck, a metal carport, and a 2015 DR Field and Brush Pro XL tow-behind mower. The items will be disposed of through sale, donation or disposal, Smalley said.
–Heard the Friends of the Parks plans to give away bubble necklaces and foldable flyers at the Wood County Fair.
