Officials Paint Vision of Chardon Township Park
It was not a “Saturday in the Park,” but a Monday evening.
And it took place more than a month after the Fourth of July.
But, like that upbeat 1970s Chicago pop song, Chardon Township Park Board members have reasons to feel happy about the potential development of the township’s park.
Members visited the north end of the township’s park Monday evening after holding their regular meeting at the township hall a mile away.
After a 35-minute exploration of the land, they came up with preliminary ideas on how to develop the grassy area.
Some of them suggested a parking lot should be put in place, while others said a gazebo should be constructed.
The park is located at 9914 Auburn Road in Chardon Township, near the intersection of Mentor and Auburn roads.
It contains two baseball diamonds and two soccer fields on the south end of the park property. Of the two soccer fields, one was developed as a football field, but is currently being used as a soccer field.
Park board member Jim Schumann also said Trustee Michael Brown told him recently it would cost “about $40,000 to $50,000” to develop a third baseball diamond in the future.
The undeveloped north end meas-ures under 2 acres, Trustee Steve Bora-wski said.
The township demolished a house in May that had previously been used as a rental, park board Chairwoman Kristan Quinn said, adding a nearby garage was left intact and could be used as storage by the township in the future.
The garage used to be a chicken coop, Borawski added.
One of the key ideas, a parking lot, was the first to be discussed.
Currently, the park has 123 parking spots, including handicapped spaces. Borawski told Quinn it fills up often, especially when multiple events are taking place.
He estimated the north end could contain about 40 additional spaces, designed in four rows of 10 spaces each.
Each space would measure 9 feet wide, so a 90-foot-wide parking lot would easily fit in the area to be developed, he said.
In addition to the park, the township also owns a roughly 0.1-acre parcel on the north side of Mentor Road.
“Maybe we can put a township sign there in the future,” Borawski said, adding for years, the township utilized a cinder shed there.
Some members suggested a gazebo akin to Chester Township’s gazebo would look nice, especially due to the park’s location near the busy inter-section.
Schumann said a gazebo can only hold eight to 10 people, but said he agreed “it would look nice.”
Auburn Career Center students take on building projects and could poten-tially assist in the construction process, Quinn said.
“They help out with drywall, elec-trical work, everything,” Schumann added. “For years, the center?would buy a lot, close to the school. Sometimes, they would purchase a whole house. They have a teacher overseeing them, so the quality turns out good.”
Board member Mike Doudican suggested Borawski could also fill the role of Santa Claus if a gazebo is built.
“I’m halfway there,” Borawski joked.
In other news, Schumann told the board about the goings-on with the Joint Parks and Recreation Committee (JPARC).
It contains representatives from the entirety of Chardon and Hambden townships, half of Munson and parts of Claridon townships as well as the City of Chardon.
“They’re the geographical areas that feed into the Chardon Schools system,” he said of the joint committee, which he is member of.
He said the JPARC will host a November seminar at Chardon Middle School on fire safety, open to the public.
At that event, Chardon Fire Chief Larry Gaspar will talk to the community about fire safety during the holiday season.
Among the issues will be how to avoid overloading electrical outlets with Christmas lights.
Members also discussed items to be posted in the park’s kiosk.
Currently, the park contains rules on the right side of the kiosk, but the left side is vacant.
“There’s nothing else there,” Quinn said, displaying a posterboard she made that contained information on purch-asing dedication items such as mem-orialized bricks or park benches. A JPARC brochure could also fit in the now-vacant left side.
Township officials may laminate the items soon, Schumann said.
The park board next meets Aug. 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the township hall, 9949 Mentor Road. Members also said no December or January meetings will be held.
