Public weighs in on future of parks

By Elise Franco | January 11, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

CAnfield

The public is speaking up about what direction it wants the Mill Creek MetroParks to take over the next decade.

Park officials welcomed residents to the MetroParks Farm in Canfield for an open house Tuesday night where folks were asked what they thought was important in moving the park forward, said Linda Kostka, marketing and development director.

“People can come through and talk to staff and ask them questions,” she said. “Then they can write down their own comments and suggestions.”

A second open house is from 6 to 8 tonight at Fellows Riverside Gardens off Mahoning Avenue in Youngstown.

Kostka said the suggestions will be reviewed to help park officials and Youngstown State University representatives create a survey that will go out to 4,000 Mahoning County residents.

“The surveys will be used to construct our 10-year plan, which we hope will be complete by October,” she said.

Clarke Johnson, executive director, said gathering information from the people who use the park most is a critical part of putting together the master plan.

“We need adequate representatives of the community,” he said. “I use the example, ‘If everybody wants us to paint it red, we’ll paint it red.’”

Suggestions ranged from a need for more public restrooms, to constructing a trail in the wetlands off Western Reserve Road, to bringing back ice skating, to adding an indoor ring to the Buckeye Horse Park.

Jim Connolly, 48, of Canfield said he’s a runner, and he would like to see work done on many of the trails and paths throughout the park.

Connolly said he would like to see some of the paths become more updated and user-friendly.

“The trails’ roots and rocks are exposed, and it’s treacherous to run or bike,” he said.

Ron Rhinehart, 75, of Canfield wants park officials to allocate as much money as possible to preserving the park’s historical landmarks such as Lanterman’s Mill and the natural habitats such as lakes Glacier and Newport.

“The majority of the available resources should go toward the core of the park,” he said. “Of course, I’m old school, and I don’t like all the commercialization. Keep it natural.”