Bainbridge Twp. to Remove Six Structures at Centerville Mills
After several studies and years of discussion, Bainbridge Township Trustees decided to demolish five buildings and remove an old obstacle course at Centerville…
After several studies and years of discussion, Bainbridge Township Trustees decided to demolish five buildings and remove an old obstacle course at Centerville Mills Park.
The buildings slated for demolition are the work shop, dispensary, headquarters, 30s cabins, and the run-in.
Trustees decided that two other buildings — the nature center and the log cabin — will also be demolished unless the township can get a satisfactory commitment from an outside group such as the Seabees to take over the repair and maintenance of the structures in return for their use.
Buildings to be kept include the dining hall, the lakeside building, the office, main well house, sewer plant, an outhouse and a pump house.
Buildings which could be either kept or eliminated later, depending on their condition and use, include the rental house, the office, the daycare center, the barn and hay barn, the lodge and the picnic shelter.
The decision came at the end of a three-hour special meeting in which trustees went over a list of 22 structures left at the former YMCA camp.
The township purchased the century-old camp and its 161 acres in 2003.
At that time, trustees said they wanted to keep the land, with its woods, lake, waterfall and trails, from development and keep the facilities for community use and rentals.
Since then, other boards of trustees have gradually removed the camp’s swimming pool, a farmhouse, a riding center, boats, archery equipment, old cabins and other items, partly due to repair and maintenance costs.
A citizen’s advisory group studied the camp’s remaining facilities in 2007 and recommended removing the buildings and turning Centerville into a passive park.
Recently, the township received word that it owes the City of Aurora property taxes for a rental house it owns on the Aurora portion of the Centerville property.
Portage County has determined that, since the house is rented to a tenant, it does not qualify as a public use and therefore taxes are owed.
After a brief discussion Monday night, trustees decided to keep the house at least until the tax question is sorted out and its condition studied.
Representatives from two constr-uction companies — Heery International and John G. Johnson — attended the meeting.
Trustees are considering hiring one of the companies to assess the buildings not slated for demolition, to determine costs of repair and maintenance and to see whether some functions can be combined or moved.
Trustee Jeff Markley said it occurred to him more than a year ago that the township was rapidly running out of money to maintain all its buildings and were facing decisions of which to keep and which to eliminate.
“I didn’t want the (Geauga County) Budget Commission to say to us to spend off all the funds without saving for maintenance,” Markley said. “Let’s figure out the cost of the buildings, find out their issues and then put a plan together. Then we can go to the budget commission and say we have a plan and this is what we need to set aside.”
He added, “We spent a lot of capital on buildings; now we have to spend to maintain them.”
Trustees disagreed on whether to keep the nature center and log cabin for outside groups to repair and use.
For the last several years, the Seabees have used some of the park facilities for repair projects and for training purposes.
Scouts and the local REACT group have also expressed interest in using some of the unwanted buildings.
“Buildings would have to be assessed as safe first and repairs would have to meet standards,” said Park Board Chairman Marty Sfiligoj, adding the groups’ intentions are good, but there may be liability concerns.
“I like the aspect that there is activity at the park,” Markley said. “People walking around reduces the likelihood of vandalism.”
Resident Gil Myers asked what would happen if the leadership changes in the next year.
“We need to be logical and take the emotion out,” said resident Ted Seliga, who has frequently questioned allowing outside groups to use the park facilities.
“The Seabees came looking for construction projects,” Seliga said. “Here are buildings you don’t even want. It doesn’t make sense to bring in an outside organization that wants to make (their base) regional. To me it’s a no brainer. What have we gained except preserving buildings we don’t want?”
Seliga pressed trustees to make a formal decision.
“Yes or no on the Seabees,” Seliga said. “Could you at least make a decision on that?”
When Trustee Lorrie Sass Benza appeared to lean toward demolition of the unwanted buildings and Chris Horn seemed to want to keep them for now, Markley said, “It essentially comes down to me.”
“This has bothered me about the trustees for a number of years,” Seliga said. “You’re supposed to be independent thinkers who on occasion have a disagreement. It appeared to me that you’re almost there (in making a decision). Now one trustee has taken and stopped it. Sorry to say it, but it’s true.”
After several minutes’ more discussions, Seliga said, “You need to make a motion.”
Trustees decided unanimously to tear down five buildings and the obstacle course immediately, and to delay the demolition of the other two buildings for two months to give the park board and the groups time to come up with a formal proposal for the other two buildings.
“Beautiful,” one audience member said.
The construction company representatives said that, now that trustees have decided which buildings to eliminate, they will submit more detailed proposals for the trustees to consider in a month.
