HOWLAND — The Trumbull County MetroParks has approved a motion to seek proposals for the donation of the historic log cabin and associated timber at the property on Nelson Moser Road in Braceville.

At their first meeting of the year with the MetroParks, members heard from MetroParks Director Zachary Svette that the board can’t donate property unless it is below $5,000 in value.

He said the MetroParks checked and the cabin and timber market value, based on the value of the timber, is estimated at $1,875, which is below $5,000, which will then let the MetroParks sell or donate to a nonprofit or political subdivision being asked to submit proposals.

Svette said the proposal that is selected by the MetroParks from a nonprofit or political subdivision would ask that the cabin be removed from the property within a certain number of days. He said it could be recommended for 90 days or by summer.

Svette said a notice will be posted on the MetroParks social media site and in the local newspaper.

“The board will review the proposals and see what the organizations would like to do,” he said.

Officials said another option would be to sell by internet auction or public sale.

Board member John Brown said the log cabin was originally constructed during the Civil War period and is aging and deteriorating.

Board President Randy Fabrizio said he would like to see the county prosecutor review the related resolution regarding the proposals and the cabin by the board.

Svette said he is aware local historical groups have been interested in the cabin.

“This is the very first step the board had to take following the Ohio Revised Code. We are now going to seek proposals from any interested groups,” Svette said.

Svette said he is aware that groups involved with the Trumbull County Historical Society and others in Braceville have expressed interest.

He said he would like to see the selected group remove the cabin from the site.

Svette said he will wait and see how many proposals the MetroParks get.

He said he wants the proposals to indicate what the group wants to do and if they have the costs to remove the cabin from the site.

LEAVITTSBURG DAM

In other business, Svette said work at the Leavittsburg Dam has been moving forward, but much of it is weather permitting.

Svette said after the dam is removed, the Army Corps of Engineers is requiring a study be done, with Svette able to secure $50,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources H2Ohio.

He said RiverReach Construction is doing the work at the dam at $4.656 million and will handle map revisions and flood plain data.

The LOMR study is a Letter of Map Revision for a dam, which is a Federal Emergency Management Agency-approved update to flood insurance rate maps based on physical changes to the dam, such as changes to floodplains, regulatory floodways or flood elevation. The LOMR includes information on the construction of upgrades, which provide updated flood hazard data.

Svette said as part of the dam removal, the final notch should be in shortly.

He said the weather will determine if the project is extended further. Svette said they would like the dam out before July.

Also, recently, county commissioners approved $325,000 in capital funds from the Department of Natural Resources for the Western Reserve Greenway Bike Trail Phase 4 project.

Phase 4 is the connection of the bike trail between Niles and Warren at $3.6 million.