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Communities could team up for recreation
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - September 22, 2010)
Communities could team up for recreation
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Joining forces will be the focus of a new recreation group being formed this month in the Chardon area.
The Chardon Joint District Recreation Committee held its first meeting Monday to begin looking at ways to combine resources for the area encompassed by the Chardon School District.
Chardon Councilwoman Deborah Reiter said that forming a joint recreation committee will allow communities to plan better for recreational needs.
The initial meeting was expected to include representatives from Chardon, Hambden and Munson townships and the City of Chardon, she said. Mrs. Reiter said the group also hopes to include representatives from Aquilla Village and Claridon Township.
Mrs. Reiter, city recreation board member Dean Peska and Chardon School Superintendent Joseph Bergant II will serve as co-chairs of the committee.
Mrs. Reiter said the initial meetings are intended to take inventory of what recreational opportunities exist and what may be planned in each for the near future.
She said Hambden Township recently added acreage to its holdings, and the group hopes to learn what plans officials may have for that land.
Mrs. Reiter said the group will act independently but work together with the school district in planning future improvements.
Such a team approach recently was used by the city to create new basketball and volleyball courts. She said the school district cooperated in the effort, swapping land with the city, to allow for the courts adjacent to the city pool. The city paid for the construction, she said.
Working together, Mrs. Reiter said, will allow communities to provide the needed recreation opportunities without a duplication of offerings.
One such future project may be the upgrading of tennis courts used by the schools. "This project would accommodate five courts, so the school can hold better tennis matches," according to the agenda for the meeting. "This could be one of our first projects among our communities, to help fund and construct."
In forming the group, Mrs. Reiter said, those gathered will look to similar joint efforts in other Geauga County communities. "We'll try to model ourselves after the Kenston and West Geauga joint district boards," she said. "We'll see what works for our group."
She said the communities have shown good support for the group in its initial stages with all planning to send representatives to the inaugral meeting.
"It's great to have everyone willing to meeting," Mrs. Reiter said. "They are appointing representatives and taking the time to discuss this idea."
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