The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
MENTOR COUNCIL EYES LAGOONS
Proposed charter change would distinguish between marina, preserve
Mentor leaders are gearing up for another go-round on the ballot in order for greater leeway at the Lagoons Nature Preserve
and Marina — namely the latter.
The Aug. 18 City Council agenda includes two items that would enable officials to invest in some projects on the estimated 360-acre property.
One is an ordinance approving constructing — with the assistance of grant funding — an ADA-accessible boardwalk, observation deck and tower from the lagoons property into Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve.
The legislation also provides for submitting the ordinance to the electorate Nov. 3.
“We’re trying to preserve all of the old forest down there.”
— Assistant City Manager Tony Zampedro
The other ordinance would place another charter amendment on the ballot with the intention of making improvements beyond normal maintenance at the marina without having to wait for an election and depend on voter approval. A similar amendment failed last November with about 51 percent against. The new amendment would distinguish between the marina and the natural areas comprising the preserve, and permit council to manage the marina without resorting to mandatory referendums. It would still reserve voters’ right to decide all issues related to the property’s sale, lease and development other than non-marina uses.
The amendment also would afford “maximum legal protection” to the preserve, according to the legislation.
Councilwoman at large Janet Dowling, a member of council’s Lagoons Committee, said the law director was asked to make the ballot language more simple and straightforward this year.
“There remained concerns last year that the marina and/or nature preserve could be sold without voter approval,” she said. “That was never the intent, but perhaps the legalese led to that interpretation by some. We intend to make it very clear that will never happen without voter approval.” Dowling noted unique situation the is in.
“We have over 1,200 acres of park lands and the city that is the only facility that has to have major improvements approved by voters,” she said. “We have purchased Springbrook and made considerable improvements to that park, with positive feedback from residents.”
The restrictions in the charter were added by referendum in 1998 shortly after the city bought the lagoons property from developer Richard M. Osborne Sr. for $13.8 million, with interest.
Boardwalk talk
Council’s Lagoons Committee recently met to discuss the three-phase boardwalk project, the first segment of which was awarded a $115,050 Coastal Management Assistance Grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The grant equals half the cost of Phase 1, including building an estimated 195-foot boardwalk along the edge of the marsh northeast of the lagoons parking lot. This phase will also include an ADA-accessible observation deck.
The project would commence immediately following voter approval, Parks & Recreation Director Kenn Kaminski said. Future phases would include extending the boardwalk another 100plus feet and adding a second, larger, ADA-accessible deck (Phase 2) and, later, up to an 80-foot observation tower on the western rim of the marsh basin (Phase 3).
The timeline for the other two phases will be dependent upon when additional grant funding is secured, Kaminski said. The cost of the tower is projected to be comparable to the tower at Lake Erie Bluffs, or around $500,000.
Accessing the marsh is currently limited to dirt trails and dangerous roadsides, preventing much of the population from enjoying the rare habitat, officials say.
City leaders often get requests for an observation area at the popular birding destination.
As part of Phase 1, the city seeks to not only highlight the preservation efforts, but also migratory species that can be found in the area.
“We documented, just ourselves, 400 species of birds,” Kaminski said.
The city administration seeks to use in-house labor for its contribution to the first phase.
“We’re trying to preserve all of the old forest down there,” Assistant City Manager Tony Zampedro said.
He added that the administration is looking at a way to increase public parking on the property, regardless of whether the boardwalk is built.
Dowling called it an important public access project and said discussions of it began at least 15 years ago. City leaders have been trying to draw more visitors to the park for decades.
“I can’t stress strongly enough how I feel not only as a council member, but also as a resident the necessity to provide more access for the public to our nature preserve,” she said. “This past six months has proven to all of us the value of our great park system for recreational purposes as well as healthy living during this COVID-19 pandemic.
“This grant is not possible without the approval of the voters of Mentor. It would be a shame to have to pass on the opportunity to provide this additional access.”