Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz, center, with scissors, and city officials are joined by Jim Kinnick, director of the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, third from left; John Carey, director of the Governor’s Office of Appalachia, third from right; and Niles Park Director Mark Pallante, second from right, as they cut the ribbon for Riverside Park on Thursday.

NILES — A project rooted in nearly a decade of planning and hard work was recognized just as school lets out and the summer heat arrives.

Niles officials, joined by the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, MS Consultants and Integra Excavating, officially opened Riverside Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday. The project features a canoe and kayak launch, amphitheater, nature playground and stamped concrete pathways.

The project was included in the $3.5 million Downtown Riverfront Revitalization Project, which the Appalachian Community Grant Program fully funded through the Governor’s Office of Appalachia and the Ohio Department of Development.

Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz expressed his gratitude for the community’s support, calling the project the definition of “truly delivering” to residents. Mientkiewicz said the project’s journey started in 2018 with a planning meeting, where officials discussed ways to drive up water recreation by opening and utilizing the Mahoning River and establishing parks and recreation along it.

He also called it a catalyst for economic development.

“In 2018, the Mahoning River Mayors Corridor Association, along with the (Western Reserve) Port Authority, Eastgate (Regional Council of Governments), the Regional Chamber — all came together to figure out how Trumbull and Mahoning counties come together as one,” Mientkiewicz said. “And to establish these types of recreational areas on the Mahoning River in our downtown areas again to drive that quality of life and recreation aspect.”

Mientkiewicz called Riverside Park “another piece” to the puzzle.

He noted many people contributed to Riverside Park and the Mahoning corridor, extending special thanks to city council and the city’s park board director.

“When I told Mark Pallante, our city park director, that, ‘Hey, Mark, we’re going to add another park,’ I thought we were going to get his resignation letter right on the spot,” Mientkiewicz said. “Mark and the park board have been very supportive in our entire venture, and we are extremely proud to offer Riverside Park as another piece to our vibrant park system.”

Mientkiewicz noted MS Consultants as the lead partners and designers, and Integra Excavating as general contractors, but said Eastgate was the lead applicant on the Appalachian Community Grant Program.

“This is all a product of Eastgate’s hard work and planning and design and championing the application, so hats off to Eastgate,” Mientkiewicz said.

Mientkiewicz said the park area in 2018 was fully overgrown and seeing the Mahoning River wasn’t possible, and the city was storing telephone poles for the light department at the park site.

“There was probably 40 feet of spoiled dirt that was dumped over the years that just created a barrier along the Mahoning River,” Mientkiewicz said. “This property was actually owned by FirstEnergy — the city of Niles didn’t even own the property — so it was a long process to acquire the property, to plan for all of this, to make sure the funding aligned.”

Eastgate Director Jim Kinnick said Riverside Park was just one of 10 projects the organization was an administrator for, noting a lot of them align with the Mahoning River.

“We have been spearheading the effort to get the dams out of the river. We have three more coming out this year, early next year,” Kinnick said. “And you really will be able to kayak the entire length from northern Trumbull to southern Mahoning.”

Shelia Cubick, a Mahoning County resident supporting her husband, who was involved with the project, said it’s important for people to be connected with the river because it helps them understand how their actions impact their backyard.

“Being able to get to the water, get on the water, be in the water, understand the whole ecosystems and how nature works within that — is really important for people to understand and be able to see,” Cubick said. “Unless you can get down and see and be in it, you don’t really have a good understanding; it’s just a thing that kind of exists as opposed to being something that’s part of the community and connected to everything you do in your backyard.”