Ravenna looks for other ways to improve Emerald Lake Preservation

Ravenna did not win a state grant to acquire what would be additional park property, but the city’s not giving up yet.

Parks and Recreation Director Chris Bundy said he is scaling back his sights and seeking a smaller state grant that would allow the city to purchase one of the two target properties adjacent to Emerald Lake Preservation.

Now 100 acres, Emerald Lake Preservation is located between South Diamond Street and Hommon and Lakewood roads. Had the state’s Clean Ohio grant come through, Ravenna would have been able to enlarge it by almost 10 acres to the east and almost six acres to the west.

As it is, Bundy said he will seek a $300,000 ODNR Land and Water Conservation Fund grant that would allow the city to acquire the easternmost parcel: 9.74 acres with access to Emerald Lake Parkway, off South Diamond Street.

Access is the issue. Emerald Lake Preservation contains three significant wetland areas and is Ravenna’s largest undeveloped property. The only way to approach it now is via Emerald Lake Parkway, Bundy said.

“Being able to get that eastern parcel would give us that access we need and be able to use the property,” Bundy said. “We want to make this property more conducive for passive recreation. We can extend some of the trails. I would like to put in a small boardwalk to open opportunities for bird viewing.”

Bundy also envisions a small parking lot at the eastern end as well as restroom facilities.

The 5.81-parcel near Lakewood Road will have to wait.

“The western parcel is really just an additional preservation area,” Bundy said. “It’s not to say in the future we wouldn’t want to go after it, but I would say it’s just for right now.”

Through an email funneled through Venture in Conservation owner/broker Neal Hess, landowner R.R. Wellington expressed support for the city’s vision for the area and for its goals of protecting the property and making it available for public access. Hopefully, grant funding efforts “will soon be successful,” the email concluded.