Council awards park project

New trail anticipated to be open before winter

A walking path planned around the park at Mentoron-the-Lake City Hall soon could get underway.

City Council on Oct. 10 passed a resolution accepting the $57,688 bid of Solonbased Carron Asphalt Paving Inc. for the project.

“This will allow us to install the walking path this year instead of waiting for the spring,” Mayor David Eva said of passing the legislation as an emergency measure.

The project — estimated at $65,100 — was made possible by a Community Development Block Grant to design and install a 1-mile asphalt trail around the perimeter of the park at 5860 Andrews Road. The grant was awarded in the spring.

The project was initiated after the city received financial aid from Lake County’s Plan4Health program, which received a $187,000 grant from the American Planning Association to combat two determinants of chronic disease: lack of physical activity and lack of access to nutritious foods.

The grant was dispersed to 13 communities, and Mentor-on-the-Lake’s portion was used to hire CT Consultants to help come up with a healthy community action plan.

Consultant Kris Hopkins created a detailed design plan for upgrading McMinn, Overlook Beach and City Hall parks.

Along with the parks, the consultant reviewed how safe the community was for pedestrians and bicyclists, and looked at the feasibility of adding bike trails or bike lanes, said David J. Radachy, the Lake County planning and community development director.

Other proposed park improvements include:

• City Hall — Pickleball courts, refurbishing tennis courts and ball fields, playground expansion, additional seating, consolidating and screening Service Department facilities

• McMinn — Basketball court, asphalt walk, expanded playground, refurbished baseball fields, restroom facilities

• Overlook Beach — Shore erosion control, expanded parking lot, court area (refurbished basketball or sand volleyball), asphalt walk, boardwalk, gravel walk, expanded playground, fitness stations

Total cost of all the improvements at the parks could top $2 million.

The city continues to seek funding for the remaining projects, particularly for the erosion problem at Overlook Beach Park, which led police to close the beach to the public last year. CT Consultants is working on a cost estimate.

The timeline of the trail at City Hall won’t be known until a preconstruction meeting is held, within the next two weeks.

“The walking path should be ready for use by the end of November,” Eva said.