Mill Creek MetroParks OKs purchase of 560 acres

A sod farm is being bought in two parcels.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Mill Creek MetroParks will grow by nearly 560 acres.
At a meeting Monday, park commissioners approved a resolution finalizing the purchase of 256 acres located between Western Reserve and Calla roads in Beaver Township, the former Paradise Fish Farm.
The cost was $500,000, and the park received a $285,000 Clean Ohio grant to pay for part of the purchase with the remaining $215,000 coming from donations from the Beecher Foundation and the John and Doris Andrews Trust, both of which are Sky Trust foundations, and the John Finnegan Foundation.
The fish farm was owned by Richard and Timothy Calvin.
Park commissioners renamed the property the Mill Creek Wildlife Sanctuary.
"Volney Rogers would be so proud of us," said Susan Dicken, park executive director, referring to the park's founder.
She said that more than 200 species of birds, many of which are endangered, have been spotted on the property.
The parcel, which includes a wetland, will be maintained as open space, conservation area and wildlife habitat.
Sod farm
The board also approved two purchase agreements to buy the Orvets Sod Farm.
The 303.5 acres in Boardman lie east of Tippecanoe Road and north of Western Reserve. The cost is $2.6 million.
The park is buying the property in two parcels. The first parcel, about 117 acres, is $1,008,979, with a closing deadline of March 31.
All the money for that portion is secure through Clean Ohio Fund, the James and Coralie Centofanti Charitable Trust and three Sky Trust foundations: the John S. and Doris M. Andrews Trust, the Beecher Foundations and the Hynes-Finnegan Foundation.
The remaining section is about 186 acres, with a price of $1.6 million. The closing deadline for that piece is June 30, 2007. About $250,000 has been secured for that parcel, park officials said.
"These two parcels are larger than the original Mill Creek Park," said Carol Potter, park development director.
The intent is to keep the land natural.
"We're doing what Volney Rogers did," Potter said. "We're preserving the best of what's left."
A portion of the property includes a wetland that's considered rare in such a large, contiguous parcel, she added.