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Geauga Park District to acquire Welton Gorge
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - October 08, 2009)
Geauga Park District to acquire Welton Gorge
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Burton Township Trustees gave their stamp of approval Monday to the Geauga Park District's purchase of 114 acres that include what has been called "the little Grand Canyon" of Geauga County.
Trustees unanimously approved a letter of support for the purchase after getting assurances that no neighboring residential properties would be negatively impacted.
Park district Deputy Director Keith McClintock sought the support for the property that is at the northeast corner of Hale and Burton Windsor roads.
The property, more commonly known as Welton Gorge, has been on the park's wish list of acquisitions since the district's inception, Mr. McClintock said.
He said it contains massive sandstone ledges that make the sandstone ledges at the district's West Woods in Russell Township look small by comparison.
Mr. McClintock said, eventually, access to the new park would be off Hale Road.
The land has already been purchased at a cost of just under $800,000 by the Western Reserve Land Conservancy, which is working in partnership with the park district. The park district will eventually purchase the property from the conservancy, he said.
The new park would likely not be open to the public for "quite some time," he said, although limited, guided hikes will be available to acquaint the public with the new park.
He said the previous owners cut many of the trees from the property before selling it and a reforestation program will be instituted to restore the land.
He said the park will be conducting a natural resource inventory of plants and animals within the new park. He said biologists have already identified one inhabitant, the camel cricket, a rare cricket that only lives in sandstone ledges, he said.
He said James Bissell, with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, will be brought in for his expertise in identifying the plants and animals.
Mr. McClintock said the park has plans to portion off 10- and 17-acre parcels off Hale Road. Those parcels would be sold for individual homes on each. They would also include conservation easements.
He said the types of homes built there tend to be larger, more expensive homes that will increase the township's tax base. He said a similar type of development in Parkman Township increased that township's tax base by $1,800 a year. He said the sale of those properties would help reduce the cost of the property to the park district.
Mr. McClintock said the park has plans for a parking lot, pavilion and trails. He said no visitor center is planned there, because the park district does not consider such buildings unless it has a minimum of 1,000 acres.
Burton Township Trustee Louis Mucci said he wanted reassurances that any development there would not negatively impact neighboring properties as a new park in Chester Township reportedly did to one neighboring property.
Trustee Daniel Whiting said some residents have expressed concerns that the Swine Creek Park in Middlefield is not being maintained as well as it had in the past. He said residents want to know that this park will continue to be maintained.
Mr. McClintock assured trustees that the park district makes every effort to keep parks clean and maintained.
Mr. Whiting said he used to play in the gorge as a child, and the property's best use may be for a park. He said the steep terrain would likely not be a good site for a housing subdivision.
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