By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Wood County Park District’s board approved eight projects last week to spruce up the parks – including one taking aim at the new archery range. The bids on all eight projects came in at or below the estimated costs.
Among the projects approved was archery range construction costing $9,973, awarded to K&K Construction, of Weston.
Wood County Park District Director Neil Munger said there is a lot of community interest in the “long-awaited” archery range located on Linwood Road behind the county historical center. The project approved Tuesday is a concrete slab floor for the shelter where archers will stand when they shoot at targets.
The entire archery range project is estimated at $46,500. Besides the 76-foot concrete slab, the rest of the project will be done in-house by park district staff.
The 10-lane range is expected to be done in July or the beginning of August. An Eagle Scout candidate is building targets to be placed in different length lanes.
Following is a list of the other projects approved:
- Beaver Creek concrete work costing $9,355, awarded to K&K Construction. The work will replace part of the walkway and patio leading up to the retreat center, and put a concrete pad in for handicap parking next to the sidewalk.
- Bradner Preserve boardwalk lighting costing $7,425, awarded to Gross Electric. The LED lighting will be installed along the boardwalk between the parking lot and the nature center. The center is scheduled to be open to the public on May 20, from 1 to 4 p.m.
- North Baltimore parking lot at the south end of the Slippery Elm Trail, costing $13,100, awarded to Morlock Asphalt, Portage. The overlay of asphalt is expected to take care of drainage issues caused by settling of the parking lot.
- Otsego Park service drive repairs costing $13,400, awarded to Morlock Asphalt. The driveway had extensive cracking in the asphalt.
- Operations parking lot expansion at the park headquarters on Mercer Road, costing $8,900, awarded to Eric Palmer, Bowling Green. The park district recently expanded the operations building, so now the stone parking lot needs to be expanded.
- Rudolph garage siding along the Slippery Elm Trail, costing $7,000, awarded to Dunipace Builders, Pemberville. The brick on the aging building is decaying due to the weather, so steel siding will be installed. The garage, at the corner of Rudolph and Mermill roads, is used to store several items needed for trail maintenance.
- Tuck pointing at the historic one-room Zimmerman School, costing $18,500, awarded to Comte Construction, Toledo. The park district delayed the work until the school was moved recently to its new site at the Carter Historic Farm. Munger said Comte did a good job with tuckpointing at the Wood County Historical Center.
In other business, the park district board:
- Discussed a boundary survey at Sawyer Quarry Nature Preserve, where some of the neighboring landowners have built sheds or garages on the park property, before the district purchased the land. Munger suggested the board look at long-term leases for the neighbors. Board members wanted more information before taking action.
- Set the next park district meeting for May 2, at 3 p.m., in William Henry Harrison Park, Pemberville.
- Heard praise from member John Calderonello for the park programming and sites. “I’m really amazed at what I’ve seen developed in those five or six years” during his service on the board.
- Learned that Bryan Bockbrader recently attended the Ohio Woodland and Wildlife Conference, with the big topics being pollinators and ticks.
- Heard that the annual walleye run was attracting typical numbers of anglers to Buttonwood Park on the banks of the Maumee River.
- Heard from Jim Witter that he is looking into park programming for people with special needs.
- Heard from Jamie Sands that volunteer hours at the park district added up to the equivalent of $156,000 in 2016, according to a state formula.
- Went into executive session for a personnel matter, but took no action.
