Park district board discusses Sapp’s Run show barn

The Holmes County Park District met recently and discussed several ongoing projects as a busy summer continues to take shape.

The group approved the minutes, financials and bills, which included a large expense for new hurdles for the park district’s summer track and field youth program and a survey expense near Brian Hill for the trail project.

“We did have some concerns about encroaching on (that property),” said Jen Halverson, HCPD director. “We made sure we all know where the property lines are, and we’re getting along well. We did a land swap and wanted to make sure we had the property lines marked very clearly as we start the project.”

Other bills included the organization’s website upgrade and expenses for Crissey Memorial Pool.

The board discussed several ongoing programs on which it is working.

The first was discussion on the trail project, which is a $6 million project that is being supplemented by several key grants that will allow the park district to keep its total expenses to around $400,000, a number Halverson said the board has been prepared to finance for some time.

“For a $6 million project, I think our share will be under $400,000 when it’s all said and done, which is good,” Halverson said.

The H2OH resolution for the Sapp’s Run project was next on the agenda, with discussion centering around the area near Walmart that was dedicated earlier this year.

Halverson said she and Karen Gotter of Holmes County Soil & Water Conservation District have discussed the success of that project, and grant dollars remain available for further projects.

The one Halverson brought up was Sapp’s Run Preserve on the west edge of Millersburg. She said Bio Habitats came to do a concept construct with no promises, just a concept the organization could use to create a grant bid.

She said one key idea is to continue to keep Sapp’s Run open and accessible to the public because they have people who walk and bike and buggy traffic utilize those grounds as transportation.

“There’s not much we’re doing there, so we thought this would be a good opportunity to put in some wetlands, some plantings to make it more than what it is,” Halverson said.

The board approved a resolution for application of a $500,000 reversible grant.

Halverson also said the concrete pads that formerly housed structures on the grounds are being discussed with the Village of Millersburg as to their strategic use. She said if there was no need for them, they could be pulled out and disposed of to create all green space.

Another topic of discussion was the large show barn at the old fairgrounds on Sapp’s Run.

Halverson said the barn is not being used and is an eyesore. She said she has discussed utilizing Holmes County demolition grant dollars with Arnold Oliver, Holmes County planning commissioner, to raze the structure.

“We put our names on the list with promises either way,” Halverson said. “We were actually selected for demolition.”

Board member Dan Mathie said the board had left the building standing because they felt they might be able to repurpose the wood portion of the structure.

Halverson said having a large structure standing with no windows where community members could wander in is not conducive to remaining, so the board decided to move forward with the demolition process.

Trail construction continues near Killbuck and Glenmont on the trail near the east end of state Route 520.

She said much of the work is clearing and grubbing, and the laying of asphalt remains far away, but progress is being made as they survey to make certain to stay out of dedicated wetlands.

The landfill project continues to gain primitive trails and was renamed Holmes County’s Legacy Point. Volunteer groups continue to work on that project, and signs are ready to post for open hours and rules, with a late summer opening being the hope.