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YOUNGSTOWN -- The city plans to reopen its parks, pavilions, pool, golf course and summer camp program with COVID-19 pandemic safety guidelines in place.
All of the city's recreational facilities, except walking trails, were closed in mid-March last year because of the pandemic with the North Side Pool, splash pads and the Henry Stambaugh Golf Course not opening at all.
But the parks and their pavilions will reopen in April or May along with the golf course and athletic fields, Kevin Tarpley, a parks and recreation department employee, told city council's parks and playgrounds committee Friday. He read a statement about the plans from Dawn Turnage, the parks and recreation director, who was unable to attend the virtual meeting.
"I'm extremely happy we're moving ahead with this," said Councilwoman Samantha Turner, D-3rd Ward and the committee's chairwoman. "The parks play an important part in the neighborhoods and the mental and physical well-being of people."
Though Tarpley did not give specifics about any COVID-19 restrictions Friday, he said the city would follow state guidelines as well as those from the city health district.
The city's summer camp program for kids is expected to start in June with enrollment a month prior, Tarpley said.
Also, the North Side Pool is scheduled to open June 21, he said.
The department also plans to add concerts in parks this summer, pending approval by the state and city health departments, Tarpley said.
MCKELVEY LAKE
Turner said at Friday's meeting that the city will have an ecological survey done of McKelvey Lake, acquired by the city Dec. 22, to determine what lands around it are usable.
"We need to see what areas are wetlands and what areas can be used," she said.
Mayor Jamael Tito Brown has created three committees to focus on the lake property's preservation, recreation and economic development.
"We'll spend the next few months working with community organizations and neighbors to see what they want and talk to other communities that have lakes to see what they've done with development," Turner said. "We're just getting started."
Any plans for the lake will be for the long-term, she said.
"There's a lot of potential there," Turner said.
The city has discussed obtaining the lake for years.
The 400 acres include the 125-acre lake, 1.3 miles of streams, 26 acres of wetlands and a forest.
The property on the city's East Side was owned by Aqua Ohio, and had been a backup water source for the company for nearly 40 years. Aqua Ohio no longer needed the lake for water use.
The company agreed in 2017 to sell it to the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, which obtained a $831,000 state grant this year to fund 75 percent of the $1,108,000 cost of buying the property. The conservancy provided the remaining $277,000 needed to purchase the property.
The sale was finalized Dec. 22, 2020, with the conservancy transferring the property to the city the same day at no cost.
Aqua Ohio is fixing the dam, at a cost of $1.5 million, to be done over the next year.
dskolnick@tribtoday.com