Maple Highlands Trail through Chardon is Back on Track

January 15, 2015 by

Maple Highlands Trail Extension, delayed last summer, is back on track.

City Planning and Zoning Admin-istrator Steve Yaney said the last three easements for the bike trail through the city are in various stages of being finalized.

He asked Chardon City Council last Thursday to authorize him to accept the donation of a 20-foot-wide easement along property owned by Aldi Inc.

A purchase agreement for $5,200 with Burger King, owned by ARC, LLC, is nearly done and one with Chardon Oil for $70,000 is being completed, Yaney said, adding the city will also cover legal fees for the Aldi contract.

The price of the Chardon Oil land is for 0.16 acres and is based on the Ohio Department of Transportation formula for the value of commercial real estate, Yaney said.

Property acquisition costs are taken out of the grant money from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, he said.

Other businesses that have donated easements for the multi-purpose trail include Citgo, Petronzio Marketing Lance Osborne of SISU Chardon and Chardon Custom Polymers, Yaney said.

During the summer, the city negotiated an agreement to purchase for $1 each, two parcels of property from Geauga County Commissioners so the trail — which will connect the existing bike path from Painesville with a trail built south of the city — may be completed.

The extension through Chardon has been designed to encourage bikers and hikers to utilize businesses in the city.

Once council passed the three ordinances for acquisition of the easements, Yaney said the project can go to bid.

Because most of the property owners along the bike path donated the easements, the city has a little more capital to use for construction and other expenses, Yaney said.

A preliminary cost estimate for the project was $651,500 last February, with most covered by a $521,200 grant from NOACA and the rest from the city.

“This has been a long, arduous project, but we’re getting there,” Chardon Mayor Phil King said last Thursday.

In other business, council passed an ordinance allowing Yaney to contract with RealtyNet, Inc., to find tenants for parts of the old village hall property on South Street.

Yaney said he has been handling that job, but feels Realtor Vic Cizek should take it over.

RealtyNet has more exposure to possible tenants, he said, adding the company handles a number of other rental spaces around the square.

There are five units on the second floor and two of them are vacant, Yaney said.

As of Feb. 1, the Chardon Area Chamber of Commerce’s lease is up and the organization will be moving to the Chase Bank Building on Center Street, Yaney said.

Even without a contract, Cizek has shown the building to three potential tenants, Yaney said.

“He gets a lot of inquiries for 400- to 700-square-foot users,” Yaney said, adding Cizek has a lot of connections in the commercial realty world.

Council voted to have the city manager execute an exclusive marketing agreement with RealtyNet to lease commercial property owned by the city.