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HOWLAND -- A $6,500 grant has been received by the Trumbull County MetroParks for a ramp that needs to be installed at the metroparks office off North River Road.
Metroparks Executive Director Zachary Svette said the $6,500 is from the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley.
He said the metroparks are providing a $6,500 local match with Howland Township donating part of the ramp as well as in-kind work.
Svette said the township has a ramp at a house by the cemetery and is bringing it to the metroparks office to be used for a section of the ramp in addition to what is purchased with the money for the project.
Svette said the total project cost is approximately $20,000.
He said the Americans with Disabilities Act requires access to the building for those in wheelchairs and other disabilities.
Svette said the ramp will be from the side of the building onto the front porch. Right now, the building has steps to both entrances.
Also, Cindee Mines of Champion provided the board with grants that are available from the Ohio Historical Connection that she said could help with the possible restoring of the log cabin in Braceville.
She said she also has been in contact with Douglas Reed of Pennsylvania who has been in the business of restoring log cabins in different parts of the country for more than 40 years. Mines said Reed may be able to stop in Braceville to see the cabin when heading to a seminar.
"When I spoke to him, he was very excited about the cabin and said he would be willing to stop and help us," Mines said.
At prior meetings, she expressed concerns to the metroparks board and to Braceville trustees over the log cabin in Braceville, which is owned by the metroparks. She said years ago, park board member John Brown talked about plans for a walking/bike path by the cabin.
Board member Nicolette Darkangelo said the metroparks has a limited budget and paths at other parks such as the park off North Road in Howland were done by volunteers.
She said grant money for such projects is hard to obtain since the local share is not always able to be provided by the metroparks.
"Was there ever a volunteer group that wanted to get together and clean up the cabin property and do a walking path there? I understand your budget and manpower situation," Mines asked the board.
Darkangelo said it is often difficult to get volunteers and noted that many metroparks events are poorly attended.
"We have many properties we would like to be able to do things at, but that is not always possible because of funding," Darkangelo said.
Svette said the metroparks budget in recent years has been decreased from $136,000 to $130,000, which is needed for maintaining what the parks currently have. He said attempts to get two park levies passed have been voted down.
Mines suggested the cabin be given to another organization, such as a local historical society.
In May, the metroparks approved seeking proposals for the sale of the log cabin.
Svette said whoever acquires the wood and logs could remove the cabin from the property. Brown said he would hope the cabin could stay somewhere in the county if whoever acquires it decides to do that.
Svette said the Ohio Department of Natural Resources requires that the property where the cabin is located be used for outdoor recreational purposes.
PROPERTY ADDED FOR HUNTING
The board also approved updating its hunting policy by adding a 200-acre metroparks property in Kinsman as an additional hunting location, as well as a 200-acre parcel north of state Route 5 in Braceville that is part of a nature preserve in that township.
Svette said a hunting lottery is done each fall for determining which hunters get to hunt deer at the different metroparks locations. He said more than 100 hunters apply for hunting on metroparks property.
Seasonal hunting with bow or gun for deer is permitted in designated parks, which include the Eagle Creek Nature Preserve, Lockwood Hunting Preserve, West Branch Wetlands Nature Preserve, Trock Forest and Kinsman Nature Preserve.
In other action, the board:
• Heard from Svette that phase 4 of the bike trail along Warren Avenue between Niles and Warren will be completed this summer.
• Is donating a wooden water pump wheel and miscellaneous stones from the Leavittsburg Dam to Warren Township possibly for the Leavittsburg Historical Society if they want to display it at their museum. Svette said he spoke with Warren Township trustee Tyler Wilson about the wheel donation.
• Heard from Svette about issues with someone shooting and damaging portable restrooms at Swift Park in Braceville.