ThisWeek CW 11/19/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/16/groveport-city-projects-bond-sale-will-raise-funds-to-demolish-water-plant.html

Following action by Groveport City Council on Nov. 9, residents can expect to see work on a few improvements they’ve been requesting.

Plans to tear down the old water plant and upgrade the recreation center parking lot were originally included in the city’s park master plan.

Thanks to council approval, City Administrator Marsha Hall said the city plans to sell bonds in 2016 for the demolition of the old water plant. That facility will be replaced with a new building to house the parks and transportation departments.

Council also gave Hall permission to seek an additional $450,000 for improvements to the lower parking lot at the recreation center.

If funded, Hall said, both projects will be completed in 2017.

The parking lot project, as laid out in the park master plan, includes paving the lower lot, creating a total of 108 parking spaces, with curbing and paved connections to the walking paths as well as additional lighting.

The city does not yet have an estimated budget for demolishing the water plant and building a new structure.

Playground grant

Council also approved emergency legislation allowing administrator Hall to apply for a matching grant through PlayCore Inc., doing business as GameTime, to install playground equipment in the Founders Bend neighborhood.

Over the summer neighborhood residents approached council to inquire when a 5.3-acre lot originally slated for a playground by the developer might actually become a playground.

Since that meeting, Hall found a grant opportunity through GameTime which would provide 50 percent of the cost of playground equipment purchased through the business, if the city qualifies.

Hall said the grant requires a project budget of at least $75,000 but the city would only be responsible for half that amount. She added that the grant application is due by the end of November and the equipment would have to be purchased before the end of the year.

“I’ve worked on this grant in the past and had success. We put money aside this year already as a placeholder for parks improvements that we can use if you approve it,” Hall told council. “The issue is if we can purchase that this year, it will save us a lot of money. If it works with the Founders Bend people, we’ll purchase it and store it over the winter and then install it in the spring.

“Our hope is that it will be installed by a combination of our staff and the neighbors, so there’s some ownership of it and it becomes a true community project.”