[2:47] Hey Mark. >> Good evening.

[3:33] » Good evening. Welcome to the Parks and Rec Committee meeting. Today is August

[3:36] 5th. It is 5:30 p.m. If I could get a roll call, please,

[3:41] Mindy. >> Mrs. Cooper.

[3:43] » Here. >> Mrs. Crawford.

[3:45] » Here. >> Mr. Long.

[3:46] » Here. >> Three present, we have quorum.

[3:49] » Good evening. Welcome to the Parks and Rec Committee meeting. Today is August

[3:53] 5th. It is 5:30 p.m. and I will call the names

[3:59] Mrs. Mrs.

[4:01] Here.

[4:07] » I think so. I should check the audio. >> Okay. Okay, we'll try.

[4:11] Yeah, it's recording and that's live. Um, technical difficulties. Moving on.

[4:18] I'm looking for an approval of the minutes from the July 1st Parks meeting.

[4:22] » I'll make a motion. >> I will second that motion.

[4:25] If you get a roll call, please. Mrs. Crawford.

[4:28] » Yes. >> Mrs. Cooper.

[4:30] » Yes. >> Mr. Long.

[4:33] Three A's, motion approved. Thank you. Are there any visitors that would like

[4:38] to speak to the Parks and Rec Committee this evening?

[4:40] » Well, we're going to have Aaron come up and do a presentation. We don't have any

[4:43] visitors, but we do have an announcement of a new employee. So, let's do that.

[4:48] » Yes. So, in the audience, uh, we have Adam Teach. He is the engineering

[4:54] technician. Uh, his first day was on Monday. He comes to us from GSI, uh,

[5:00] which is a a company that does, um, material testing, uh, but has a lot of

[5:06] construction in his background. He's already been out to J.R. Smith Park. Um,

[5:11] so he's aware of what's going on over at that, uh, $3.5 million project, um, as

[5:17] well as a lot of the other construction that's going on. So, please, if you see

[5:21] him out and about or if you have questions, his, uh,

[5:26] email is No, I'm just kidding. Please feel free to reach out to him via

[5:30] email. I'm happy to give his contact information. What's his title?

[5:34] » Uh, engineering technician. >> Welcome to the family.

[5:39] » Great. >> And then, did you want to move to Mr.

[5:42] Nobler after >> he's

[5:43] » Is he on the He's not on the agenda in a more specific He's going to do the

[5:48] presentation on the Old Orchard Park. >> Oh, okay. Then we will just transition

[5:51] right into unfinished business with Old Orchard Park. And then I would like to

[5:55] invite Mr. Noblet up to the podium.

[5:59] » Hello everybody. Thanks for having me. Um Aaron Noblet, consulting arborist

[6:04] with the city. Um talking about potential management strategies for Old

[6:09] Orchard Park. Um Let's go ahead and go to the next slide.

[6:16] Uh just a comparison. Rosecrans Park on the

[6:19] left here compared to Old Orchard. Rosecrans is my a my basically a mature

[6:25] woods where you have, you know, just a mature

[6:27] stand of oak, hickory, beech, maple. And there isn't much you have to do to

[6:32] make it beautiful other than keep out the invasives, which we've been doing

[6:35] over the last handful of years. Where Old Orchard is what

[6:40] you would consider the early stages of forest succession where it was a Old

[6:45] Orchard with some apple trees. Otherwise, I'm assuming it was just kind

[6:48] of cleared land. And then it was just left unmanaged. So

[6:52] what you get is this kind of explosion of growth that kind of just is real

[6:56] thick and some people might say unsightly, but you

[7:00] get a combination of beneficial native vegetation and exotic invasives that

[7:06] don't belong there. Um so that's kind of a summary of just And And with time,

[7:12] over decades and decades, with proper management, it will

[7:16] eventually look more like Rosecrans and, you know, be more appealing and a

[7:20] healthy forest. Um if that's the goal of the city. So I

[7:25] guess go to the next slide. >> Can I ask a question on that slide

[7:28] though? Is the majority of what I'm looking at at Old Orchard Park

[7:32] trees or invasive other stuff? In those

[7:36] » It's a combination. >> Okay.

[7:38] » So you've got native trees and a and maybe some exotic invasives like calorie

[7:44] pear. Luckily, not a lot of the flowering pear has moved in there.

[7:48] More of the invasives being in the understory where you've got I'll get

[7:51] into that a little bit. >> Okay.

[7:53] » Um want to go to the next slide. So, what can we do to help speed up the

[7:59] recovery? Um you know, just the the most basic thing

[8:03] we can do if we're to you know, say we don't have a lot of resources to put

[8:06] into this park or we just want to do you know, just the bare minimum it would

[8:10] be kind of a routine annual or maybe two

[8:13] times a year invasive species removal project

[8:17] where we're removing the honeysuckle, privet, multiflora rose, poison hemlock,

[8:21] flowering pear, and Japanese barberry. And I'm there's probably some in there

[8:25] that I'm missing. Um so, getting those invasives out of

[8:28] there so that they're the beneficial native vegetation can thrive. Cuz it

[8:33] kind of chokes it out and if you leave it too long, it can be just you know,

[8:38] get even worse and be harder harder to manage.

[8:41] And then if there's openings to plant Ohio natives, you know, help that

[8:45] process along where we can plant trees and shrubs and you know,

[8:50] pollinator-friendly flowering plants as well

[8:53] in the process. >> Is the removal of the invasive species

[8:56] species something that our services team can do with your supervision?

[9:02] » Yeah, I think so. Yeah, just identifying.

[9:05] That's the biggest thing is making sure that we're not removing beneficial

[9:08] plants. So, making sure that we're properly identifying it.

[9:11] And it's not huge stuff. So, you can you can cut it and then very carefully treat

[9:16] it with an herbicide like basically paint it on the stump. If we're able to

[9:19] totally uproot it, then we don't have to use herbicides at all. But sometimes

[9:23] that's not feasible if there's you know, plants are just too big.

[9:26] » So, you're not talking about big machinery or

[9:28] » Well, it depends. I'll get into that a little down the road if we it depends on

[9:32] the the vision that the city has for it. But

[9:36] for the majority of the park, I would say and I was kind of

[9:40] I did quite a bit of investigating to figure out, okay, what's actually back

[9:44] here? It may have looked like weeds, but there's a lot of

[9:47] good stuff in there mixed in with stuff that we don't want in there. So, I think

[9:51] for the majority of the park, I think kind of hand selectively removing the

[9:54] invasives and leaving it natural and letting it go through that cycle of

[9:58] forest succession. It's going to take a while, but

[10:01] but if there's an opening into it later where if we wanted to have a heavier

[10:06] hand managing an area, I've got some ideas for that, too. So.

[10:10] » But, for step one, likely our services team could do the work with your

[10:14] » Yeah. >> supervision and knowledge and

[10:16] » Yeah. It'd be good to pick a I don't know. It'd be nice to do it

[10:20] when the ticks aren't as active, you know, like early winter.

[10:26] Um and just, you know, maybe

[10:30] designate a few days to it and and just once a year go at it until we get it

[10:34] under control. And unfortunately, you can't just say,

[10:37] okay, we're done now. Then you have to be proactive. You just

[10:41] got to you kind of get a feel for, okay, this likes to pop up here. But, once you

[10:45] get the bulk of it done after those first several years,

[10:48] » You can identify that stuff when it's cold out.

[10:51] » Yeah. And then it's just kind of like proactive maintenance from there.

[10:55] Um if we if we designate it, you know, year after year and then it's just kind

[10:59] of like we it pops up and you're you're being more proactive than reactive.

[11:04] So, if you want to go to the next slide.

[11:08] Grapevine is another it's basically that's an apple tree. The

[11:12] stone age consumed with grape vine. So, from an aesthetic, grape vine is native,

[11:16] it's beneficial to wildlife, but in this case, it's just, you know, it's choking

[11:21] out trees that we would want. It's choking out some of the wild apple

[11:24] trees, but it's choking out black walnuts and hackberries and other trees

[11:29] that we would want to release and so, I would say grapevine control would

[11:34] be important at this stage. Um carefully, you know, cutting and

[11:37] carefully treating the the the fresh cut stump with an herbicide.

[11:41] Um that alone, getting the grapevine under control of invasives is going to

[11:46] really, you know, from the aesthetics of the park, it won't look like as much of

[11:50] the stuff of a rat's nest.

[11:53] Um I'm going to go on to the next slide.

[11:58] So like critical features in this park is Prairie Creek does run through it and

[12:03] it also runs through Evening Street Park on the other side of Granville Street.

[12:08] So like thinking of Prairie Creek uh as we want to preserve riparian

[12:14] buffers on both sides of the creek, which would be a vegetated area that

[12:19] acts as a filter. Uh so contamination, you know,

[12:22] contaminants, pollutants that might be coming down into the creek can be up

[12:27] taken up by the trees and you know, it it basically just acts like filtration

[12:31] to protect the water quality of the creek.

[12:34] So if you were to ask like Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation

[12:37] District, they're going to say anywhere that you can have a riparian buffer, a

[12:41] healthy riparian buffer along the creek is good, you know, because this creek

[12:47] spills into Hoover Reservoir, which is the drinking water for

[12:51] a bunch of municipalities south of us, so

[12:55] just kind of being good stewards of the creek. Uh

[12:58] so I would say within the park, definitely preserving

[13:01] the forest with is adjacent to the creek as much as

[13:05] possible and just focus on on on basics there.

[13:08] Uh again, Delaware County Soil and Water is

[13:12] that's kind of their bread and butter, what their goals are for protecting

[13:16] water quality and their, you know, soil erosion, so they're really

[13:20] up to speed on that. Um if you want to go to the next slide.

[13:26] Um on the other side of Granville Street

[13:29] where the library side, you know, I would like

[13:33] to get there and Delaware County so on the water where you can see the grass

[13:37] goes all the way up to the creek. We did plant a row of bald cypress and

[13:42] some swamp white oaks there, but I know that they like to talk about creating no

[13:46] mow zones where you allow vegetation to grow up of

[13:49] course trying to get natives to take over and then they kind

[13:53] of have it on a mowing rotation which creates a buffer

[13:57] and then planting trees to create shade which will cool the water which the

[14:02] hotter the water is and the water is more you're going to get a bacterial

[14:05] growth and so considering maybe seeing what they would

[14:08] say for maybe managing that side of the creek a little better so we're not

[14:12] because I'm assuming they're maybe putting lawn chemicals straight up to

[14:16] the edge there. Um

[14:19] so that would be something to consider. We do have some really good trees

[14:22] growing though so that's that's a good start but I know that they might be big

[14:26] on no mow zones where you kind of create a meadow along the creek and then

[14:31] allow trees or plant trees uh in combination.

[14:36] Um and that could go in the NPDES report as being proactive. It could go under

[14:42] the Tree City USA report that we're you know, we're creating right earning

[14:47] buffers along Brandywine Creek. And basically any tree the city is

[14:50] responsible for that's that's a good idea or frankly so on the water or

[14:54] they'd be the ones to help out with that. Um

[14:58] do you want to go to the next slide? Um

[15:02] at the back of the park there's kind of a grassy meadow area. It's got a lot of

[15:06] golden rod and wing stem and some other good stuff

[15:10] but it also has poison hemlock which is a pretty nasty plant. Um

[15:16] Jake last year did some the the service department did some

[15:20] management of that but it pops up every year. So, within the meadow area at the

[15:25] back of the park, we're really going after that poison hemlock. That's a

[15:27] critical. The time to hit that is in March when it's about that high off the

[15:31] ground and just spray it when it's when it's

[15:34] low because it needs to be 8 to 10 ft tall and makes, you know, spraying

[15:40] you're spraying everything else around. So,

[15:42] and just a word on that, the property behind Old Orchard where the meadow is

[15:48] that the HOA owns is just covered in poison hemlock. So, it'd be good to

[15:52] maybe work in combination with them and see if they'd be interested in helping

[15:56] manage it. Otherwise, the seeds are just going to keep falling over.

[16:00] And then, um it is a pretty neat little meadow area though that'd be beneficial

[16:04] for pollinators and wildlife. Um so, maybe figuring out

[16:10] what's the best way to manage that. Is it should be mowed every 3 years? Could

[16:14] we sprinkle other seeds in there to get, you know, more flowering plants going

[16:19] that are native? Control invasives, you know, you can put

[16:22] up bluebird boxes. So, there's a lot of things that could go on on the meadow

[16:27] side at the back of the park. That's the massive pile of massive plant back

[16:31] behind there for reference. So, it's it's kind of neat to have it

[16:36] there. Um you know, cuz it is different than the

[16:40] forested section of the park. Uh if you want to go to the next slide.

[16:45] So, the old apple trees, you know, they're just

[16:49] they're in rough shape. You know, they've they've a lot of them are half

[16:52] dead or covered in grapevine. So, the idea of reviving them, I mean, I

[16:57] would say the ones that are healthy enough to keep around, keep them around,

[17:01] kind of prune out the dead. But, the idea that it will ever be a

[17:05] functional orchard again, I mean, to grow apple trees is major maintenance

[17:09] with pruning and treatments. They're really

[17:12] susceptible to all kinds of fungal diseases. So,

[17:16] you know, these places that are drawing quality apples, either whether they're

[17:19] using an organic program or they're using synthetics, they're they're really

[17:24] spraying and and controlling disease. So,

[17:28] the I I would say it's nice to keep the old health apple trees that still have

[17:33] some life life left to them, but in general, they're pretty dilapidated.

[17:38] So, I think eventually just letting the the Ohio native forest trees take over

[17:44] would be the ultimate goal in the long run.

[17:47] And um >> So, that definitely wouldn't be your

[17:50] recommendation to plant apple trees. >> Well, maybe in one section I'll get I'll

[17:55] go to the next slide. >> Yeah, that's where I was going with

[17:57] that. >> like

[18:00] just to kind of honor the history of the park,

[18:04] you know, around Johnny Appleseed, maybe some dwarf

[18:08] disease-resistant apple trees would be cool. That I think that'd be a way to

[18:12] kind of commemorate the history of the park,

[18:16] but keeping it simple, you know, and and

[18:19] that would be something manageable where they could be pruned and

[18:23] and kept nice. Um

[18:26] Apple trees in general are they're they're wild, you know, like it

[18:30] you should see like Lenz's orchard. They're pruning those like constantly

[18:33] even the way they look. So, that would be an idea.

[18:38] Um do you want to go to the next slide?

[18:42] And then something I'm almost finished here, but just

[18:45] something to consider if we if we did want to have a more heavily managed area

[18:50] of the park while it's going through that those stages of forest succession,

[18:55] I thought it might be an idea to create like a natural play area where we would

[19:02] be more aggressive with mowing down the overgrowth

[19:06] um and

[19:08] if there would be more like a focal point of the park and it could be a

[19:13] place for, you know, benches for sitting or

[19:16] um a big thing now that parks are doing is they're using like rocks and tree

[19:20] stumps to create play spaces for kids. >> Mhm.

[19:23] » So, boulders I would say only plant Ohio natives

[19:28] except for the apple trees around Johnny. Um

[19:32] you know, it could look really pretty and um I don't know if when I worked at

[19:36] New Albany the developers would as they were digging they would stash

[19:40] the boulders up on the side and the city would come pick them up and put them in

[19:43] the park. >> Sure. That's a good idea.

[19:45] » Which was and we and if I really want to go to the next slide.

[19:51] So, this is in Rose Run Park in New Albany

[19:54] an example of a play area like that. Uh and it's kind of this park Rose Run

[20:01] was right along Rose Run Creek over by like between Market Street and

[20:06] 62. Um

[20:09] back behind the library and mellow mushroom and all that.

[20:12] And it was just it looked like old orchard when they started 15 years ago.

[20:16] And if you walk through it now, I mean they heavily managed it.

[20:20] But um

[20:23] it it's just kind of shows what it can look like with time and patience and

[20:28] kind of controlling the invasives. But that, you know, it's it's just a

[20:32] simple rocks, benches, logs and Ohio native planting landscape.

[20:40] Uh but if you're ever in the area there it it it's really

[20:43] that'd be a good representation of kind of what it can be.

[20:47] » And on the picture that you superimposed that onto ours you had it sort of in

[20:52] front like along Granville. >> Yeah, it wouldn't have to be. I mean it

[20:55] could be wherever makes sense. And what what my concern that I would have is

[21:00] like how high is the flooding? >> Mhm.

[21:03] » That because we wouldn't want to like put mulch and plants there and then it

[21:07] floods away so yeah so up higher maybe up it makes sense and figure out how

[21:12] high the water comes you know when we get extreme rainfall

[21:16] but I don't know if I was just thinking maybe visible from Granville just

[21:20] because it's kind of pretty focal point but just an idea if we wanted to do

[21:25] something a little more heavy-handed with management

[21:29] and you know a lot of that what would be removed in the process you

[21:34] probably have to like use a forestry grinder

[21:38] and preserve whatever trees are you know want to keep in the process but for the

[21:43] most part a lot of it will go and I don't think we'd be cutting down

[21:46] anything special you know so what's that material on the ground then

[21:52] is that just I think just mulch

[21:57] just mulch and boulders and benches

[22:02] but they definitely like they definitely plant only Ohio native landscaping plant

[22:07] which is most which is common in most parts these days

[22:11] so I'm going to go to the next slide I

[22:14] think that's all I have I have a question do you think there's

[22:17] enough room to do something like this and still have some of the dwarf

[22:24] apple trees I mean I didn't

[22:27] measure it out or anything I was just trying to come up with

[22:30] I walked through the park with reservation parks their their resource

[22:36] manager and they were talking about how they like to do these natural play areas

[22:40] any opportunity they get so I just and charm our park if you've ever been back

[22:44] there at the Granville little thing along the side of the creek

[22:49] but yeah I think there'd be room and you know depending on how big we would want

[22:52] this space to be but I think it could be like a good focal

[22:56] point or as the rest of the park is going through

[23:00] the kind of the ugly stage where you would

[23:02] have a pretty spot, you know. And it's walking distance from downtown.

[23:07] People can walk down to the coffee and whatever else. So, just an idea.

[23:12] » It's a great idea. I like it. >> It's right

[23:15] It's just within walking distance of the apartments, of the communities.

[23:19] » Yeah, there's people back there quite a bit. There's a the connectivity.

[23:23] You have the trail, so it could potentially get a lot of traffic.

[23:29] So, that's that's basically all I have.

[23:34] » Love it, Daryl. >> I think I do, too.

[23:38] Appreciate it. Yeah, thanks for having us.

[23:40] » Yeah. So, um yeah, Aaron Aaron, thank you so much.

[23:43] We appreciate that. So, yeah. I mean, yeah, obviously we've talked to Johnny.

[23:47] We've talked about trying to do something with that park. This would be

[23:51] a relatively low-cost option, at least to get started. As you've already

[23:57] checked out, I mean, sounds like our service team could do some of it, not

[24:01] all of it, but uh maybe to get ourselves started or something. So,

[24:05] Yeah, I think what we're really looking for is

[24:07] » potential collaboration with Delaware, with Franklin County,

[24:11] with their soil and everything he said. >> Yeah, I definitely jotted down some of

[24:15] those notes as well. I think we'll we've got a relationship with soil and water.

[24:18] We'll follow up with them up regarding the the creek.

[24:21] » said, with the tree city you know, it's just a lot of good It's all good. I

[24:25] think what I'm hearing is it's not terribly We're not talking about a $4

[24:28] million project here, but we are talking about things that will are beneficial to

[24:32] the city and to our residents and potentially our younger residents as

[24:37] well, if we go that route. So, >> Yeah.

[24:39] All right. Well, we'll keep uh >> It makes our passive park a little bit

[24:42] more enjoyable. >> Yeah.

[24:45] » Yeah. For sure.

[24:48] Yeah. Yeah, so we'll

[24:50] uh we'll have the team. So, we have our tree team.

[24:53] That's Alyssa, Jake, uh Aaron. Um you know, kind of keep digging a little

[24:58] deeper, figure out what we could maybe do later this year, dig into next year,

[25:03] etc., etc. So. Yeah, I love that. Like it.

[25:07] » Thanks. Appreciate it.

[25:09] » Anything else to add, Mark? >> I was, uh,

[25:13] » Yes. >> I'm supportive of cleaning up that area.

[25:16] I know I've been through there a couple times with my kids. I know with the

[25:19] future development of that space, I know a lot of residents are already down

[25:22] there. I think that'd be a really great investment, long-term and short-term as

[25:27] we continue forward. I like the I'll say

[25:33] less developed part of a park, right? So, the idea of just walking through the

[25:37] woods than to have a huge development or expense of upkeep.

[25:42] » Right. >> And we're doing that at the Arsenal. So,

[25:44] we're looking for that. We have it there, and then there's so many

[25:48] health benefits to kids just being in nature and playing on natural

[25:52] » Absolutely. >> Is that each and everyone can

[25:55] » Yeah. >> I'm supportive to just short walks, too,

[25:57] and with your coffee in the morning, whatever you

[26:00] » Yeah. And as that area over there with Mr. Genovese's property gets developed,

[26:04] it's just a good spot. >> Yeah.

[26:08] » Thank you. >> Okay. Do we have a J.R. Smith Park Grant

[26:14] update? >> Yes.

[26:47] » So, not as big of an update I was I was hoping for this month. Um, we got a

[26:52] quote on some additional items and I didn't receive it until

[26:57] an hour before the meeting. So, I'll have more to share on that next month,

[27:01] but on packet page 19 slide.

[27:06] So, these are some items that were removed from the bid documents that we

[27:10] reached out to our um playground supplier. So, we can get all

[27:15] of these back with the ODNR funding. Um >> We removed these for financial reasons.

[27:21] » Okay. >> now with the extra funds from ODNR, we

[27:24] can bring all of them back >> Okay.

[27:27] » and add to it as well. So, the drinking fountain with the

[27:32] refillable water bottle, um the grill, about six benches, and a bike rack.

[27:39] » I remember years ago um too and the bench that you're showing here has them,

[27:44] but I remember years ago having somebody from I think it was Source Point maybe

[27:49] out and recommended when we put benches in that we have those side handles on

[27:55] them like it's showing in that picture. So, I just want to make sure we do that.

[27:59] It um It helps with getting in and out of

[28:01] benches, I remember. >> And those are also the same ones we have

[28:05] at the reservoirs, too. So, >> Yeah, perfect.

[28:07] » keeping it consistent. >> Yeah.

[28:09] » Um I don't have pricing on all of it yet. Well, I have to dive into it, but

[28:13] that's what's included in with the quote. Um go to the next slide.

[28:16] So, additional items that we asked him to get pricing for was some shade

[28:21] covered benches, um some swings especially.

[28:25] » We don't have We don't have any swings. >> We don't have swings and we were looking

[28:30] um Sorry, do you want to go back to space

[28:32] two? So, oops.

[28:36] Right over in this area would be where the swings would go.

[28:40] There's enough space because you have to have that Essentially, I believe it was

[28:44] 20 ft on each side for the swings, for the safety zone. So,

[28:50] that's essentially where they would go. Um

[28:53] » And so, I'm going to go down two more. Yeah.

[28:56] » And we would do a three-bay, so six swings total, and we would do two of the

[29:01] ADA, two regular, and then one toddler, and then one

[29:05] » [clears throat] >> tandem swing as well.

[29:08] Um it can be covered or cannot be covered, either or. Um

[29:13] but we were looking at the benches with the shade covering at the splash pad and

[29:18] the playground. >> Okay, if you want to go to the next one.

[29:22] » So, these are just some of the shade structures that we received quotes for.

[29:26] Um these would be at the splash pad, so maybe two or three,

[29:32] probably one on each side, just so to offer, you know, cuz right now there's

[29:37] no shade, and since we have this extra funding, we can now get the more more

[29:42] extra amenities, essentially. So. >> No shade other than trees that will be a

[29:48] a little bit small at first.

[29:52] » So, at a quick glance of the quotes,

[29:56] all of that plus these shade structures, we only hit maybe 135,000 max. So, we

[30:04] still have a lot more. So, we can do more if you guys like the direction of

[30:09] this, and we are looking into the security cameras. We are going to

[30:12] coordinate with PD about that as well. >> So.

[30:15] » I was just going to ask him about that. I know money came from a couple

[30:18] different places, um but so with security or cameras, yeah. I thought

[30:23] there was something else. Not signs, cuz you guys are working on

[30:27] signs. >> Uh lighting. I think the lighting was

[30:30] the other thing as well. Um >> Or maybe like an entrance feature was

[30:35] something we talked about, too.

[30:40] » The entrance feature? Just like a separate one. Like so we

[30:43] have the >> It's just something we

[30:45] » drew up. >> Yeah.

[30:47] » It was something that was pulled from the original plan since we were looking

[30:51] at signage. >> Yeah, was it?

[30:52] » Mhm. >> We could get quotes if that's something

[30:55] that committee would like to see. >> Yes, I would.

[30:58] » I think it's important to keep in mind that we don't have to spend the money

[31:03] right now. We have time. >> So we can look at adding items. We can

[31:08] evaluate the park. >> And we can add

[31:10] » See what we're missing. >> Yeah, I I think the key thing that we

[31:13] need to keep a lookout for now is anything that would be important to

[31:17] consider while it's under construction. >> Mhm.

[31:20] » Um that's certainly something we're looking at with some of the other funds

[31:24] such as that pavement replacement around the Lions building, uh full depth uh

[31:29] replacement of the pavement that's below the Lions building. It was in um

[31:33] disrepair. Um so we have some additional funding

[31:37] outside of the ODNR uh that we'll be able to utilize that for. But if we can

[31:43] put it as a change order into the existing contract, we'll save money on

[31:47] certain items. Other items may need to be designed at a later point in time and

[31:52] installed um when we have a little bit more information such as the park um or

[31:58] the trail extensions that we discussed. >> And this still includes like what you

[32:02] were telling us about with the sidewalk. Like that was all still in there.

[32:06] » Yes, we So >> So that was a different

[32:09] » Yes, so Alyssa was talking about the ODNR funding and some of the items we

[32:13] evaluated and shared and pulled out. We are we have very specific items that uh

[32:19] we need to utilize the earmarked $375,000

[32:23] for uh parking improvements, sidewalk, uh trail extension, possibly some road

[32:30] and other um improvements uh in the city street just

[32:36] outside of um the Lions building. We're actually not touching that segment

[32:41] between the 37 widening project and um when we do the mountable curb at Cherry

[32:47] Street. So, that's the location we may be able to look at doing some

[32:51] improvements to maybe um not have a gap in the the brand new area and then some

[32:57] landscape improvements, as well. >> That sounds good.

[33:03] » These items you're getting for a bid, is it a It sounds like it's a matter of

[33:07] these We probably have funding to do all of

[33:10] these. It's a matter of picking which ones we want.

[33:12] » Yeah, so these were initially included in the bid, but we removed them for cost

[33:17] reasons. Um but now with [clears throat] that additional funding from ODNR, we

[33:22] can now add all that stuff back in. >> Okay.

[33:26] » Yeah, we had originally talked about potentially looking at donations um to

[33:31] try and add some of this back, but now that we have funding, um I think that's

[33:35] the avenue we're going to go, but if you do know someone who wants to sponsor a

[33:38] bench, so something that would be available.

[33:43] » Melissa, do you know um at other parks if these grills are

[33:49] utilized, if folks use these at parks? >> I think they do. I um

[33:54] I personally never grilled out on them, but I think I've seen other people do. I

[33:58] know So, my parents live across from Hanna

[34:01] Park, so I grew up there in um Gahanna and that they always use that

[34:06] grill. That grill's used all the time. If you look at it, it's all charred and

[34:10] everything, so. >> And I we would place them, I would

[34:12] suppose, near the pavilion.

[34:16] » Yeah, near the shelter house, but at a safe distance for fire.

[34:20] » Is it just one grill or is >> Yeah, we just have one.

[34:24] » two or >> We could do two. I don't know how I

[34:27] think one would probably be plenty, but if we want to do two, we can definitely

[34:30] do two. >> It says grill on here, is that what you

[34:33] added? Yeah, we had had it originally. Yeah, I

[34:37] think it was one of the grills up on the shelter.

[34:40] » Mhm. >> Yeah, I think we just had one initially

[34:43] that was removed.

[34:49] » I know Berkshire Township just installed a newer facility by the Township

[34:54] administrative building. Mhm. And I saw their grill and it's already

[34:59] been utilized, so >> Okay, I was just curious. I wasn't

[35:03] saying anything. No, I was just curious if folks do that.

[35:08] » As far as the shade structures go, what's the maintenance on that or

[35:11] durability? >> So, the maintenance actually

[35:15] see here. >> Definitely a question I asked as well

[35:19] when we were talking about them. >> Yeah, so the service life with proper

[35:23] maintenance is 20 years with them. They're relatively low maintenance and

[35:29] these like the actual shade pieces, those detach, so they can just remove

[35:36] those, store them for the winter, and then reinstall them when in spring.

[35:41] » So, somebody has to take them down every year and put them back up.

[35:44] » And remember where we put them, right Daryl?

[35:46] And remember where we put them. >> You're saying they don't easily tear or

[35:52] » No, I don't think they are that >> You're saying they have probably about

[35:55] 20-year lifespan and by then maybe the trees are grown in.

[35:58] » Yeah, and they're they're a mesh material, so air is able to get through

[36:02] them. Um, but certainly we'll have to look at

[36:06] what the manufacturer's recommendations are as far as wind is concerned and be

[36:10] aware if there is maintenance or we need to

[36:14] maybe unhook and one of the sides during storms. Those all be considerations that

[36:19] we'll have to look at because it definitely will have some upkeep if we

[36:23] don't maintain it, 20 years is um not going to be their service life.

[36:30] » I like the the idea of the shade structures, especially as the trees are

[36:34] growing in. I just remember multiple times being at

[36:37] a playground being like, especially the new ones, and the trees just are not big

[36:41] enough. But to that question, do we have enough

[36:44] trees where maybe in the future the trees are providing the shades instead

[36:48] of the structures? But I'm thinking splash pad, it doesn't look big with any

[36:53] trees over there.

[36:56] » Yeah, I mean it's definitely something from a landscaping perspective that we

[36:59] can we can add to the site. I I would think once we get the trees installed,

[37:05] we should reevaluate, you know, whether or not we want to bring in some

[37:09] additional. I might know Oh, he's not here anymore. But I might know someone

[37:12] who who could take a look at it to see if if that would be a benefit.

[37:17] » Yeah, so so my recollection when we were going through the design process, mostly

[37:21] we were trying to get I think trees for screening and

[37:25] more so than shade, and the idea was then we would do shade structures to

[37:28] support that. I think there was some concern about getting trees too close to

[37:32] the splash pad because they can be dirty, believe.

[37:35] » Yeah, that that creates a problem in term Yeah, so.

[37:38] » Yeah, I I would agree with that as well. >> I was just I was saying that the I'm

[37:41] just roots can get wildy. >> Okay, good call. Yeah, all right.

[37:47] » Yeah, if we want to do shade structures for playgrounds, they

[37:51] have a million to choose from.

[37:56] So that's kind of where we're at and

[38:01] so far with the grant funding, but yeah.

[38:06] » Something that we mentioned before that I'd be interested in learning more about

[38:10] financially is if it would be possible to put in seating like they have at the

[38:15] dinosaur park, the dinosaur splash pad in Delaware. They have like permanent

[38:20] seats and tables. And if we're going to have shade, it

[38:24] would be nice to have somewhere for the adults to sit.

[38:27] » Yeah, because in addition we were talking about like adding They're not

[38:31] permanent, but more benches and maybe some picnic tables over there. But we

[38:35] can look into the permanent. >> I'm just curious since since Delaware

[38:40] did it, let's let's see what they did and what it would cost and is it

[38:43] possible with their engineering people with their

[38:48] spacing and stuff.

[38:57] » So maybe just a a quick point on the status of the JR Smith Park. So we

[39:01] talked about grant funding, but where are we on the construction piece? And

[39:04] that is one of the things Adam's getting very familiar with at

[39:08] the park. For better or worse.

[39:11] » Do you have anything? That's in our monthly report.

[39:14] » we do have that later. Sorry. >> Oh, okay. I'm happy to give it now

[39:17] though if you would like.

[39:20] » No. >> No, okay.

[39:26] Okay, so we're we're good with the grant update. The update was what we're

[39:30] thinking about at. Okay. Moving on to Sunbury Sizzlin' Sounds, which if you've

[39:37] looked at your agenda, they are coming tonight. So probably not a ton we need

[39:41] to get into because they're going to talk at council, but it's just probably

[39:44] like a

[39:46] It's on our matrix, I suppose. This is just to bring it to the

[39:49] » parks meeting, but we'll hear more from Civic themselves this evening.

[39:54] » And you can ask your questions then if you have any.

[39:56] » Yep. >> Okay, we have a monthly park update.

[40:01] And so that your sizzle stuff is in here as well.

[40:05] But then it looks like the park update starts on page 37.

[40:12] Melissa, is this you? >> Yes, I will get the slides pulled up.

[40:55] Okay, so Freedom Park. So, I was out there earlier back in July and I noticed

[40:59] there were new bridges. Not sure if you put them out there

[41:04] or where they came from, but there's yeah, a nice new bridge and new walking

[41:09] path type thing, so that is all up Freedom Park. You can go

[41:14] to the next one.

[41:17] Now we have the J.R. Smith Park updates. >> Those bridges you're you're referring to

[41:20] the disc golf or >> Yes. Yeah, the disc golf course.

[41:25] Okay, so J.R. Smith Park is moving along. If you were along um State Route

[41:32] uh 37 last week, uh they were moving fill

[41:37] um offsite. We ended up with just over 100

[41:42] truck loads. About 12 cubic yards per per truck uh coming in, so it was

[41:49] » [gasps] >> it was quite the race, but we also had

[41:52] our public works team um moved dirt from the wastewater treatment

[41:57] plant uh because we are removing um

[42:02] a lot of excavation material for the clarifier installation down there.

[42:08] Um it's a 70-ft diameter um

[42:11] clarifier that's about 20 ft deep. So, it's a massive hole. We have a lot of

[42:18] excess dirt that the plan is to just mound it between the wastewater

[42:22] treatment plant and the middle school. Um, so, our our team moved 40 truck

[42:27] loads. Um, they're slightly smaller trucks than some of the offsite loads,

[42:32] but we were happy that, um, that they were able to contribute and and help

[42:36] with this process. Um, about half of the 100 came from our wastewater treatment

[42:43] plant as well. So, we were able to, uh, negotiate a a a

[42:48] lower fee because they were able to get dirt at a much closer location. But,

[42:53] they still had to pay the hauling company and, uh, load, uh, the material

[42:58] themselves. So, really happy that our contractor, Simonsen, and of course, um,

[43:04] our members of the wastewater treatment plant were very welcoming, uh, so that

[43:08] we could coordinate, um, and benefit the city and save a little bit of money.

[43:14] Um, status of the park. Um, with all that

[43:18] dirt, we are able to, uh, really start to look for some vertical, uh,

[43:24] components. If you go out there today, you will see, um, pipes that are coming

[43:29] up from the ground where the splash pad is going to be. Splash pad, um, provider

[43:34] has been out, um, getting ready to, um, get that installed. I don't know if it's

[43:40] being poured later this week or next, uh, but I'm going to try and, uh, find

[43:44] out and uh, hopefully bring some pictures for

[43:47] that component. Uh, same with the shelter house as well. They've worked on

[43:51] the underground connections, uh, so we should be seeing some some vertical

[43:56] movement there as well. And

[43:59] » substantial completion >> Uh, and, uh, timeline for the park is

[44:03] still looking at October, uh, with the caveat that they'll have some internal

[44:08] components at the shelter house to complete.

[44:12] Some

[44:16] Reservoir Park, um the sign will be installed tomorrow.

[44:20] So, we'll get pictures of that once it's completed.

[44:25] Uh Sunbury Memorial Park >> a question about the Reservoir Park. Is

[44:29] there I assume no. Any easy way to maintain

[44:34] the paths that are around the reservoirs, the

[44:39] walking paths, because some of them are They're just so cracked.

[44:44] » Okay. >> And we haven't had them for that long,

[44:47] but I don't know if that material just cracks easily.

[44:51] If there would be any point in repairing them, would they just crack again?

[44:55] They're close to water. There's lots of animals up there, birds, so I don't

[45:00] know, but some of them are They're It's pretty unsightly. So, how pretty the

[45:05] area is to walk on it is. >> Yeah, I I know we discussed whether or

[45:09] not we could put some rejuvenator down on some of the paths in the city.

[45:13] Um it's something that I can have um the manufacturer for that um that fill, that

[45:20] uh black surface resurfacing agent, uh come and give a quote and also assess

[45:25] whether or not it makes sense. Um often times you uh use a rejuvenator on um

[45:31] you know, a surface that's maybe 2 >> 3 years old?

[45:36] » Yeah. Um but it it's certainly something that with a surface that isn't being um

[45:41] as heavily traveled as a road, we may be able to uh utilize that as a a way to

[45:47] » Yeah, I'm just saying some of the areas they look brand new,

[45:51] and then some of So, I don't know if people are walking on one side I mean,

[45:55] you have to get around. I don't know. I don't know what it is, but some of the

[45:58] areas are pretty bad. >> Okay.

[46:00] » Some are beautiful.

[46:04] Okay, thank you. >> That's worth doing. I will say I know

[46:07] last year when I talked to Jake a little bit about this, we

[46:10] this and the other trails, I think we did go out and do some crack repair work

[46:15] on the other trails, but we didn't do it on this particular one and I don't

[46:19] really know why. So, we'll we'll follow up with Jake to see if maybe he thought

[46:23] it maybe he just didn't get to it and we'll try to get to it this year, but I

[46:27] do like the idea of some kind of a um

[46:30] you know, rejuvenator or something to help preserve the asset.

[46:33] » Yeah. That looks pretty good. And I don't know if you guys have been down

[46:36] there during the day or in the evening, but that

[46:38] floating dock is getting a lot of use. Our my kids, their friends,

[46:44] sometimes they don't like going down there cuz there's too many people on it.

[46:47] So, it's definitely getting >> That's good.

[46:49] » It's used, yeah. And I was walking, obviously, on the

[46:53] path and I saw a kid, I don't know, 16, 17 years old and he pulled out a fish

[46:58] and it was it was like I mean, I could see it from

[47:01] up where I was and it was really impressive. They're having a lot of fun

[47:04] down there. Yeah.

[47:11] » Okay, Sunbury Memorial Park, at the Events Committee, we discussed

[47:16] the Unmarked and Unforgotten Memorial being moved into the cemetery.

[47:21] » I think we're talking about Are we talking about that tonight, too?

[47:23] » Yeah, it's on the agenda. Yep.

[47:27] » And then we also talked about

[47:30] » Have you talked any more about that little building?

[47:34] » I don't remember which committee we were in when we talked about that.

[47:37] But this was >> This one. Yeah, it's probably going to

[47:39] be this committee. Um

[47:41] we haven't talked a lot more about it. I I think other than again, I

[47:46] I don't think that the recommendation is to save the building. I think the

[47:49] recommendation is to take the building down, preserve the marble, you know, for

[47:53] maybe some other use in the future. We just haven't I think executed on that.

[47:58] » Okay, I was just curious. Now I see the building every time we go by. I never

[48:02] noticed it before, but >> Yeah.

[48:04] » Okay. >> So, we probably I just we needed have

[48:06] Jake prioritize that a little bit more. I

[48:08] think he would like to get that building down. I mean, it's

[48:12] it's a little bit of a risk. I mean, there's some risk

[48:15] associated with it cuz the when we had the structural

[48:18] » I I had a question. Yeah, the structural evaluation team.

[48:22] » Last year, they were they were saying that the the marble is starting to pull

[48:25] away from the brick a little bit. That's so again, we want to try to not only And

[48:29] we don't keep anything in the building. Yeah, so we've got that back building.

[48:34] We did originally. It used to be where they would store the mowers and any any

[48:38] equipment they had to maintain the cemetery.

[48:40] » Okay. >> But, yeah, whatever they've got now,

[48:42] they've moved to that back building. >> Okay, thank you.

[48:48] Um we also had uh three burials for this month.

[48:52] Um for Town Square,

[49:01] uh Town Square, we had the second Saturday market, the Young Makers and

[49:05] Family Market. Although it rained, they did have a great turnout, so it was

[49:10] great to see all those people come out and support them.

[49:13] Um on our historical marker sign, there is a crack on it. Um so, Jake is working

[49:20] on getting that fixed. And then the 4th of July parade, um

[49:24] well, it wasn't actually on the square, just figured I'd include that. It was a

[49:28] great turnout. I actually believe it was the largest parade that we've had so

[49:32] far. So, Um

[49:35] » These are participants, or >> Yeah, like

[49:39] » Cool. >> Number of

[49:40] floats, or entries? >> Floats, floats.

[49:45] And then we know that said, so Uh we had a couple of service days in

[49:51] July. Um the first one is City North Church.

[49:56] They were on Sunday, July 12th, and they cleaned the waterway at the cemetery. Um

[50:02] they also cleaned some headstones, and then they also painted the bridges at

[50:07] the Fallen Heroes Memorial and the bridge that the Eagle Scout built at the

[50:13] Kessel Disc Golf Course. And then we had Bright City Church on

[50:17] Saturday, July 18th. They did the mall trains around the um around the square,

[50:23] so. I didn't have any pictures for the

[50:25] service day, so >> You put a picture of yourself in there.

[50:28] » And some more. 4th of July. >> Who is

[50:32] » And the mayor's son. >> Who is

[50:34] that? Leland? >> Yeah, so.

[50:38] » I'm going to fill in the blank space. >> Yeah, so we appreciate that the service

[50:41] team was able to increase the size of the tree rings. I know that has been a

[50:44] topic for some time. >> Yeah, and Aaron said he wanted to know

[50:46] that. >> Yeah, Aaron said before he left uh how

[50:49] much he liked seeing the tree rings out there. The other thing I would note

[50:53] that's not on here, Bright City Church was going to begin to paint some of the

[50:57] bases of the uh poles. You probably They've They've gotten beat up over time

[51:02] with just mowing, trimming, you know, whatever kind of happens around it. I am

[51:07] pleased to say that the service team started painting some of the bases. And

[51:11] if you look up here on the Cherry Street um going toward the the 90° turn there

[51:18] on the right-hand side, they started to paint those. They look

[51:21] » You mean that like the curb? >> Oh no, no, not the curb. So they did

[51:24] some curb painting, but but I'm talking about the the light poles and the

[51:28] decorative light poles. Uh actually, some of them even I guess have the They

[51:32] also are the signal poles as well. Just the lower level of the lower portion of

[51:37] it. You'll note that there's kind of this I don't know.

[51:41] What am I trying to say? It's like a I don't know.

[51:44] It's a cover over the base of the >> And they're painting them.

[51:47] » They are painting them and they they've been beat up and looked pretty bad for

[51:50] some time. So, they're going to work their way all the

[51:53] way up Cherry Street. They'll get to some of those that are out, you know,

[51:56] further to the west, but but they've started out down here. So, you need to

[51:59] look at those. >> too, so.

[52:01] » Yeah.

[52:04] I like

[52:06] » Um for our monthly tree update, so for tree pruning,

[52:11] they pruned 65 littleleaf linden trees along Woodchuck and Fairland.

[52:16] So, there's some nice before and after pictures.

[52:19] And then our our streets department I don't know if Aaron did.

[52:24] Aaron and streets. I think it was Aaron. Um

[52:29] and then some other forestry updates, they did mulch

[52:33] some tree rings around the trees at Evening Street and along West Granville

[52:37] Street. They also planted six new arborvitaes at the Columbus Street

[52:42] parking lot. Um we have some potential tree removals

[52:47] on Saffron, in North Vernon Street, and then also

[52:50] over at Old Church Park. So, those will be evaluated soon.

[52:55] And then Jake is also reviewing the nursery for the large caliper trees for

[53:00] the square. So, we're hoping to get something for

[53:04] planting in the fall. So.

[53:07] And that >> Okay, so you remember that dates back to

[53:10] when we took the tree down earlier this year, commitment to put larger trees in.

[53:14] So, they are yeah, looking for as large as trees as they can get to get in the

[53:18] space. I think they've identified the species, they're just trying to find the

[53:22] trees themselves. So.

[53:26] » [laughter] >> Anything else from staff?

[53:28] » That is all the updates I had. >> Anything from the committee?

[53:32] I'm looking for a motion to adjourn. >> I'll motion.

[53:35] » Thank you. >> I'll second.

[53:37] » Thank you. Roll call, please.

[53:40] Uh Mr. Long? >> Yes.

[53:42] » Mrs. Crawford? >> Yes.

[53:43] » Mrs. Cooper? >> Yes.

[53:46] » Three years meeting adjourned.

Parks and Recreation Meeting 08/05/2026

Transcript