Timothy Michael Walton and Jazlyn Angelique Alvarado work on a bed of roses at the Lakeview Park Rose Garden, 1615 W Erie Ave. in Lorain. (Morning Journal file)
Lorain City Council Parks and Recreation Committee met June 24 to discuss the city’s parks and determine which are needed and those that aren’t getting much traffic.
Park and Recreation Department Superintendent Eric Lahetta and Lori Garcia, director of the Public Property Department, were on hand to answer questions regarding a detailed report of each park and an update about it.
Lahetta submitted the documents to Safety-Service Director Sanford Washington prior to the meeting.
“We also discussed what type of different agencies could effectively sponsor one of our parks and continue with the maintenance and programming needed,” Washington stated in a report for City Council. “We reviewed those parks that were no longer being effectively used, and thought about ways they could be released back to a more natural state.”
Staff created a list categorizing each of the city’s 50 parks that was also presented to the committee.
The first “tier,” also considered “focus parks,” were described as large parks which often are utilized for events, rentals, ball fields and other activities.
The focus parks include Campana, Central, Lakeview, Longfellow and Oakwood parks.
The neighborhood parks include Cityview, Fairless, Falbo, G Street, Garfield, Highview, Homewood, Johnnie Wilson, Maple, Pawlak, Streator, Westwood, Williamsburg or Gargasz, Willow and Veterans.
The tier three category included the underutilized parks that are located on smaller sized acreage and are very sparingly used, the document stated.
The tier three parks the administration is considering letting go to nature or giving it to another entity include Harmons, Kneirum, Old Columbus Park, Porath Park, Pulaski, Sherwood and Sunny Acres parks.
The staff also included Pollinator Gardens, which were installed last fall and include Bonaminio, Central, Danley Square, Falbo, Highview, Johnnie Wilson, Kennedy, Lakeview, Longfellow, Maple, Westwood and Willow parks.
Approximately 12 residents attended the meeting to voice their opinion on parks in their neighborhoods.
Some residents expressed interest in volunteering their time at their neighborhood parks by cutting grass as well as picking up litter.
City officials said any resident who wants to volunteer can sign a waiver through City Hall to get permission.
Additionally, residents taking their pets along with them to the parks were mentioned to remind the public about the rules regarding animals.
By city ordinance, any dog at a park must be on a leash no longer than six feet long and their handlers are responsible for cleaning up any mess their pets may leave, officials said.
Committee members also discussed their various opinions.
Ward 8 Councilman Joshua Thornsberry said he was concerned that in his ward, on Lorain’s west side, there only are three parks.
Those parks, Thornsberry said, are necessary to the community he represents and believes should receive attention instead of shutting them down.
Officials applauded the parks’ staff for its diligent work in collecting and presenting the information.
No formal action was taken at the meeting.
In other news, City Council met in a special call meeting following the parks’ committee meeting to vote on an application from Mid-Ohio Funeral Services LLC, which operates Brown-Robinson Funeral Home for $75,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Council President Joel Arredondo and Councilwoman-at-Large Mary Springowski were absent from the meeting and the remaining members voted for Councilman-at-Large Mitchell Fallis to chair the meeting as pro-temp president.
Council voted to approve the application on its third reading with one dissenting vote from Thornsberry.
Council also discussed its budget.
Mayor Jack Bradley said the city’s finances currently are looking better than in past years.
“How are we going to address $4 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds?” asked Fallis, who has been drafting forecasts for months in an attempt to get one finalized.
Officials attempted yet again to discuss the five-year forecast, which resulted in a majority of the Council members agreeing to ask an outside entity, such as the state Auditor’s Office, to step in to analyze the city’s finances.
Councilman-at-Large Tony Dimacchia said he hopes to see legislation regarding an outside entity’s opinion at Council’s first meeting in September.
“I want to trust your numbers, I really do,” Dimacchia told Fallis regarding the latest forecast Fallis drafted.
“We’ll make that happen … we need to start planning for our future,” Fallis said. “That’s been my heart’s desire to start this process.”
Council recesses during August and is scheduled to meet again Sept. 11.
