SALEM TOWNSHIP Eagleton's Glen work is delayed

With one potential funding source delayed, the county is seeking money elsewhere.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LEETONIA -- Columbiana County's plan to improve a scenic area in Salem Township is being delayed until next year because of a funding obstacle.
The county engineer's department had hoped to begin a nearly $119,000 project this fall to improve an area called Eagleton's Glen off Eagleton Road, deputy engineer Bob Durbin said.
Plans were to pave two lots that provide parking space for visitors to a nearby historical covered bridge and the Greenway Trail, a 12-mile-long hike and bike path that stretches from Lisbon to Leetonia on a Civil War-era railroad bed.
Wall to be built
Also planned was construction of a 4-foot-high wall along one edge of the parking lot closest to the covered bridge, which is open only to pedestrian traffic.
The wall will be made from hewn sandstone blocks that the county has collected over the years when old bridge abutments have been replaced.
The wall's intent is to enhance the area's beauty and to prevent four-wheel-drive vehicles from entering an off-limits dirt path next to Little Beaver Creek.
Plans to undertake the project this fall were scrapped when an $89,000 grant the county had been seeking from the Ohio Public Works Commission was delayed.
The agency is holding up the grant because it says the money can't be used for just any type of parking lot, Durbin related.
State officials say parking lots being paved with the help of grants must provide direct access to nature areas, and that isn't spelled out in the original grant proposal.
County officials argue the grant would meet the state's criteria.
Another funding source
With the public works grant on hold, county officials are seeking funding from another state source, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' "Clean Ohio Trails Program."
The state program provides funding to improve access to trails in the state and seems a good fit for the county's plan, Durbin said.
Terms of the grant would be the same as the one being sought from the public works commission, he said.
If the $89,000 is granted, the county will be responsible for providing about $30,000 more to complete the project's cost.
About $4,500 of $30,000 will be accounted for by the county's donation of the stones for the wall. The remainder will be put up by the county in cash from its road and bridge fund. The fund is fueled by revenue from gasoline taxes and license plate fees.
Regardless of which source the county gets the grant from, Durbin said he's hopeful the project can start in the spring.