A $16,975 grant will benefit Danbury’s Township’s Meadow Marsh Trail, a popular local birding and wildlife area and walking trail.

BY D’ARCY PATRICK EGAN

The generosity of Ottawa County voters in passing a 0.6 mill levy for the Park District of Ottawa County (PDOC) in 2020 has continued to provide Parks and Trails Improvement Grants in 2023. Executive Director Jannah Wilson announced this week eight pubic entities will receive $315,000 in grants for small projects such as $6,604 for the Village of Marblehead to buy outdoor musical instruments for a sensory garden at James Park. The largest grant was $132,295 to the Village of Genoa for restrooms in Veterans Park and on the North Coast Inland Trail.

The Genoa restroom project will provide a needed amenity in the park and along the route of the 75-mile North Coast Inland Trail, also known as U.S. Bike Route 30.

“This was our second year in offering the grant program,” said Wilson, who is also in her second year of operating the Ottawa County Park District. “We try to select projects that will address community need, connectivity and enhance outdoor recreational experiences for residents and visitors.”

Wilson said this year’s grants will make a difference, both large and small and in various communities. Small grants will allow libraries such as Port Clinton’s Ida Rupp Library ($15,000) to create a Park and a Storybook Trail in Port Clinton, with space in the center of the StoryWalk to include a multi-use lawn and brick patio to serve as a stage.

The village of Oak Harbor ($6,026) to also create a Storybook Trail. The Village of Clay Center ($7,000) will be able to enhance its village park, and make playground improvements.

The River Walk on the Portage River in the Village of Oak Harbor, a major undertaking by Mayor Quinton Babcock and village officials, received $81,100 to go with a $200,000 PDOC grant in 2022, as well as substantial state funding of $500,000.

With last year’s designation of by Ohio Department of Natural Resources of the Portage River Water Trail, which will enhance recreational opportunities along the many miles of the scenic river, it will encourage a variety of tourism opportunities in the area.

So will a PDOC grant of $50,000 to protect and develop the Duff Homestead and Bayfront Preserve, 6.5-acre waterfront property in Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island. This property includes two acres of woods, two acres of grassland, and 150 feet of lakefront.

This is a collaborative effort with several organizations, including the Lake Erie Islands Conservancy, the Julene M. Market Fund and the Put-in-Bay Township Park District, as well as private donors. There have also been grant dollars provided by the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund.

The birders and hikers who live in or visit Danbury Township, especially during the spring birding season, will welcome the $16,975 PDOC grant awarded to the township for Meadowbrook Marsh, allowing the development of the Meadowbrook Marsh Paved Trail Extension. The project includes a 990 foot-long, 8-foot-wide ADA accessible asphalt paved trail extension in the northeast sector of Meadowbrook Marsh, which is easy to access.

It will connect to existing ADA asphalt trails in two areas forming a new loop through a scenic wooded section. This will fulfill an important need, based upon resident requests, to expand paved trails in this park.