Thursday, July 31, 2003
A final damage estimate will come after Mill Creek recedes.
By IAN HILL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mill Creek Park officials are hoping the federal government will help pay for some of the $525,000 in damage in the park caused by this month's storms.
Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured the park with park officials earlier this week to determine how much damage the storms had caused in Northeast Ohio.
They found roads covered with sediment, washed-out dirt hiking paths, and a collapsed retaining wall and section of pavement on the East Cohasset Hike and Bike Trail.
Park Executive Director Susan Dicken estimated that the repairs to the East Cohasset trail would cost at least $150,000. The damage, which occurred during Sunday night's storm, also indefinitely delays the park's plans to reopen the trail to motor vehicle traffic.
President Bush could declare Mahoning County a disaster area as early as Friday, allowing local officials and residents to receive federal funding to repair damage caused by the storms.
Still swollen
Park Maintenance Director Tom Fountaine said Mill Creek swelled to about 3 feet above its normal depth during Sunday's storm. The creek was so high, it touched the bottom of the U.S. Route 224 bridge, he said.
Dicken said four or five park roads were closed because of the flooding, and sections of the east and west Newport hiking trails were washed away by the rain. She added that flooding worsened after old culverts in the park became clogged with sediment.
When the creek receded, it left fish on the park golf course, Dicken said. That attracted several blue herons to the course for a free meal, she said.
Park Golf Director Dennis Miller added that the flooded creek covered the 17th hole and 18th fairway on the south course on Sunday. It also washed away one of two bridges on the 18th hole of the north course, he said.
Workers had repaired enough of the damage on the course by Tuesday to allow U.S. Amateur qualifying rounds to be held, Miller said.
"It went off without a hitch," he said. "The golf course is coming around."
Park spokeswoman Carol Potter added that when the creek receded, it also left behind sections of asphalt that hadn't come from park roads.
"Someone's missing some big pieces of road," she said.
Dicken noted that the creek is still receding, and that damage estimates could increase once it finally returns to its normal depth.
hill@vindy.com