Boardman trustees approve Forest Lawn pavilion funds
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BOARDMAN -- The next phase of the Forest Lawn Stormwater Park is underway.
On Monday, Boardman Township trustees approved a motion accepting a $750,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The Capital Improvement Community Park Grant will provide the funds to construct an educational pavilion at the front of the park property along Market Street.
Township Administrator Mark Ragozine told trustees the project will go out for bid soon and it could conceivably be completed by this time next year. Ragozine said the ODNR grant was obtained by the ABC Water and Stormwater District, but because the township now owns and maintains the property, trustees must approve the grant.
The project is still in its infancy, but must be completed by June 30, 2028.
"If all things go to plan, we could complete it by the fall of 2027, but there are other components involved," Ragozine said. "We have until June 30, 2028, but we are working on an aggressive timeline to get it done sooner."
Forest Lawn opened last October on the former site of Market Street Elementary School. The school closed in 2019 and the Boardman Local School District later donated the 14.6-acre property to the ABC Water and Stormwater District. The park was developed as one prong of a multi-faceted approach to correcting longstanding flooding problems in surrounding neighborhoods and improving water quality in the Cranberry Run-Mill Creek watershed.
Rudzik Excavating handled the roughly $3.63 million contract, signed in 2024, for the first phase. Funding came from several sources, including federal hazard mitigation money, $1 million in American Rescue Plan funding from the Mahoning County Commissioners and state capital funding.
The project opened about 700 feet of a previously enclosed stormwater system, restoring it as a surface stream surrounded by wetlands and a floodplain. During heavy rains, the design allows water to spread across the property rather than immediately entering the underground storm sewer system, slowing runoff and reducing downstream flooding and erosion.
Officials have said the improvements affect drainage for as many as 1,400 homes. When not holding stormwater, the property serves as a passive public park with walking trails, native vegetation and wildlife habitat.
Plans also called for the pavilion and surrounding grounds to demonstrate green-infrastructure practices such as rain gardens, rain barrels, permeable pavement and native plantings.
The educational pavilion represents the project’s next phase and was included in plans for Forest Lawn before the park opened. The proposed facility near the park entrance is intended to serve as an environmental education center where students and residents can learn about stormwater management, wetlands and water quality.
Boardman students already have used the park as an outdoor classroom. Students from Boardman High School and Glenwood Junior High have worked there with Kent State University researchers studying wetlands and collecting environmental data. The pavilion would expand that educational role by providing space for classes, workshops and community programs while using the park’s stormwater system itself as an instruction tool.
"Classes can take field trips there, it's a place people can use, there will be picnic tables, a shelter, and all kinds of educational tools," Ragozine said. 'They have signs there now explaining how the park functions, but this pavilion will bring it all together."
Ragozine said the size and appearance of the pavilion has not yet been determined. The design and engineering phase should be completed as early as January and at least by next spring, he said.