The City of Chardon’s popular Mel Harder Park will soon include a multipurpose playing field, expanded parking and a walking trail, city officials told members of Chardon’s planning commission Monday night.
The City of Chardon’s popular Mel Harder Park will soon include a multipurpose playing field, expanded parking and a walking trail, city officials told members of Chardon’s planning commission Monday night.
Community Development Administrator Steve Yaney said the plan did not need to be approved by the planning commission, but he was informing members about the project, which he said will be funded by a $200,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Yaney said the back half of the 12-acre park will have a standard sized soccer field that can be used for a variety of sports such as lacrosse or field hockey, and expansion plans include an additional 61 parking spaces, a gravel driveway and a 0.6-mile walking trail.
Currently, the park, named for Cleveland Indians baseball great and Chardon hometown hero Mel Harder, has two baseball fields, a gazebo and a parking lot.
“That’s a great place to incorporate a walking path,” said commission member Dean Peska.
He asked whether the park will still be closed in the winter. Yaney said it will.
City Engineer Doug Courtney showed a detailed map of the expansion and said that asphalt grindings might be used in the new driveway and parking area.
Courtney said the city will begin the construction bidding process early next year.
“We expect it to be built sometime next year,” Courtney told the commission.
The area is near, but not connected to, the existing Maple Highlands walking trail.
“This is just for our review, not for our formal approval,” commission member Andy Blackley said.
“It looks good,” commission member Mary Jo Stark said.
