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BAZETTA -- Mosquito Lake State Park will be receiving much-needed improvements thanks to increased funds from the current capital budget.
The improvements include a new shower house at the campground that will have showers and restrooms, a new restroom at the marina and 20 hookups for water, sewage and electricity at the campground, all made possible by the $38 million added to the previous state budget's $88.5 million for Ohio State Parks. Overall, roughly $126.5 million is being allocated to parks this year, allowing for the improvement of infrastructure and facility modernization.
Announcing these new improvements was Director James Zehringer of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, who has made it a point to visit each of the 74 state parks in Ohio.
"A lot of these parks were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and so the list of capital improvements kept getting longer and longer," Zehringer said, who explained the changes in camping rules have required parks and campgrounds to change as well.
The process in getting funds for Mosquito Lake State Park was very competitive, with lots of parks applying for infrastructure replacements and modernizations, according to Michael Verich, who works on behalf of the Trumbull County commissioners in Columbus.
"Because of the dire condition of the restrooms, I felt that we have a priority," Verich said.
Although the park offers a variety of recreational activities from fishing to boating to bike and hiking paths, Park Manager Josie McKenna said the improvements were still necessary for the quality of life for those who use the parks' services.
"Our infrastructure is getting older, pit latrines are not the standard anymore," McKenna said.
There is also the matter of increased summer traffic, which is beneficial not only to the park but also to the nearby grocery stores, restaurants and shops. The park itself sees roughly 2 million people a year, which illustrates the large number of people using the park's facilities.
"We're a little city that pops up in the summer," McKenna said.
The projects are estimated to arrive sometime in 2018, while the playground equipment will also be replaced sometime in August. A new pavilion already has been in service with the park for about a year-and-a-half, according to McKenna.
ddye@tribtoday.com