By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Provisions for bikers and barkers were discussed by Wood County Park District board members earlier this month.
Park board member Bob Hawker said he had been approached about the lack of a dog park in the Perrysburg area.
“They seem popular and they seem to be self-supporting,” Hawker said.
Neil Munger, the park district director, said none of the district’s parks in the Perrysburg area are really conducive to being used for a dog park. Neither the Sawyer Quarry Nature Preserve nor the W.W. Knight Preserve have space that would work for a dog park, he said. And the Buttonwood Recreation Area is used for fishing and soccer fields.
The Buttonwood soccer fields haven’t been used since the park experienced a great deal of damage from flooding a few years ago. However, it was pointed out that since the area is susceptible to flooding, putting up fencing for a dog park would not be a good idea.
Hawker asked the park district staff to just take a look at possible options for a dog park in the Perrysburg area.
Park board member Sandy Wiechman inquired about future plans for a bicycle route in the Perrysburg area along Ohio 65, both east and west of the city.
“Is there anything in Perrysburg that has been discussed,” she asked.
Wiechman said the lack of a bicycle route was brought up at a law enforcement meeting, following another motorcycle fatality on Route 65. The scenic route along the river is popular with bicyclists and motorcyclists, but it has no accommodations for bicyclists, she said.
Munger said there has been discussion about how to connect Route 65 with Ohio 795, and then the Chessie Circle bike trail. He also said the possibility of a bike trail along Hull Prairie Road, between Bowling Green and Perrysburg, has been discussed. But no progress has been made on either.
Also at the monthly meeting, park board member Sandy Wiechman asked about the increase in calls for park police. Chief Todd Nofzinger explained the increase is due to the reporting system the police are now using, the increase in park facility rentals, and the number of calls for people going from Sawyer Quarry Nature Preserve to a neighboring quarry to swim.
“It’s something we’ll have to deal with again in the spring,” Nofzinger said.
In other business, the park board:
- Elected Tom Myers are chairman and Denny Parish as vice chairman of the board.
- Agreed to continue holding its monthly meetings on the second Tuesdays of each month, but changed the meeting time to 3:30 p.m. During the warmer months, the meetings will rotate to different county parks. The meetings not at the park headquarters will be as follows: March 12 at W.W. Knight Nature Preserve; April 9 at Reuthinger Memorial Preserve; May 14 at Bradner Preserve; June 11 at Beaver Creek Preserve; July 9 at Carter Historic Farm; Aug. 13 at Otsego Park; Sept. 10 at William Henry Harrison Park; and Oct. 8 at Sawyer Quarry Nature Preserve.
- Agreed to purchase a new Dodge Durango for the park police, for $32,019, from the Reineke dealership in North Baltimore.
- Went into executive session to discuss land acquisition, but took no action afterward.
