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WHAT: Trumbull County MetroParks Board meeting Thursday
PRESENT: Nicollete Darkangelo, Kurt Sauer, Steve Maas, Kathy DiCristofaro and John Brown
The board:
-- Received a $20,000 healthy community grant from the Trumbull County Combined Health District's Healthy Communities Coalition for improving the walking trail and installing swing sets this year at Swift MetroPark in Braceville. Work will be done this summer. Officials said their goal is to make improvements in future years at other locations;
-- Approved the official transfer of the 67-acre West Branch property off First Street and Route 5 in Braceville to the metroparks with a Clean Ohio Fund grant covering related expenses. The West Branch wetland preserve has 25 acres in a flood plain and 20 acres in wetlands. The metroparks was able to get the West Branch property at $174,275 with the Clean Ohio grant covering $127,000. The Clean Ohio Fund is the state's main funding source for open space conservation, farmland preservation, trail creation, brownfield restoration and protection of ecologically sensitive areas.
-- Received a donation from the family of Rosemary Furnace to be used for improvements on the main park bike trail;
-- Is addressing damage done to the parking lot at Foster Park after a vehicle parked there caught fire last year;
-- Will meet with Trumbull County Sheriff Paul Monroe at an April 22 meeting to discuss how inmates under sheriff's department supervision may be able to do community service work at the metroparks this summer, such as painting and lawn cutting. Officials said the inmates may be able to help with special projects at the parks.
-- Plans to meet with the county commissioners about funds for the 3,000 acres of property the metroparks has in the county. Darkangelo said it has been challenging for the many parks to operate on $95,000 per year with various work that needs done;
-- Heard from Director Zachary Svette of plans to do work on the main bike trail to cut back brush and trees;
-- Heard from Sauer that he has spoken to area county officials of some of the COVID-19 relief funds possibly being allowed to be used for recreational purposes since there would be a health and wellness component for public use of the metroparks.
-- Bob Coupland