ThisWeek CW 06/05/2014
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2014/06/02/groveport-plunging-into-pond-improvements.html
Groveport officials are moving forward with plans to make improvements to all city-owned recreational ponds after a resident raised concerns about fishing conditions at Palm’s Pond.
The pond is located in Heritage Park and is frequently used by families for teaching their young children catch-and-release fishing. It has lost much of its stock because of over-fishing and unstable conditions attributed to weather-related ebbing and flooding, according to officials.
“Steve Farst is working with AEP to restore electricity to Palm’s Pond and then they’ll be able to install a pump out there to make the pond water level stay stabilized,” City Administrator Marsha Hall said at Groveport City Council’s May 27 meeting.
“Council asked me to come up with signage that addresses all the rules, standardized for all of our ponds, and we’ve been working on that.”
Hall said she anticipated putting in an order for the signs this week. The signs will be posted at all city ponds, providing visitors with a full list of rules, including fishing guidelines, to help maintain the stock.
Getting the electrical work done and the pump installed to stabilize the water level — thus allowing for better habitat conditions for the fish and other wildlife — may be further out, she said.
“Staff and AEP are trying to come up with a workable plan and there’s a cost factor associated with it, so we’ve got to figure out what that’s going to be and get it approved before we can move forward,” Hall said. “Will it be corrected this week or next week? No. But it will be corrected before we hit the next wet season.”
City council members were in agreement that the ponds are an important feature of several parks, and use of Palm’s Pond at events such as the Nature Fair on June 14 and Groveport’s annual Apple Butter Day Festival won’t happen in the future if this resource isn’t maintained.
“We’re going to continue to see things like Apple Butter Day grow, so I want to make sure we take care of this pond issue and do it right,” Councilman Shawn Cleary said.