Stark Parks eyes Hartville, Minerva for new projects

• The county's parks district has plans to put a new trail in Hartville and Lake Township, and replacement a bridge over the Sandy Creek in Minerva.
• Both projects would be paid for with grant funds that would be awarded in spring 2024.

The county's parks district wants to put a new trail in Hartville and Lake Township.

The proposed trail, called the Quail Hollow Connector Trail, would connect Lake Middle/High School to a Stark Parks wetland, GentleBrook assisted living facility, Hartville's Memorial Park and eventually lead to Quail Hollow Park.

The agency also has plans to replace a pedestrian bridge that spans the Sandy Creek along the Minerva Connector Trail in Minerva Municipal Park.

Both projects would be primarily funded through grant money. Stark Parks plans to apply for funds through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the money would be awarded in spring 2024, according to a news release from the agency.

Sarah Buell, projects and administration manager at Stark Parks, said both projects were driven by community interest. The parks district has received calls from business owners and members of the public in Hartville expressing their interest in a walking-and-biking path that would connect to downtown and the surrounding areas.

One of those interested residents is 13-year-old Hunter Yost.

Hunter, a seventh grader at Lake Middle, wrote an essay about the value a walking-and-biking trail would bring to the community to enter in the National Civics Bee , an annual competition for middle school students that encourages them to write about an idea that could improve their community using civics.

Hunter said she thinks the trail would create openness in the community.

"We've been to campgrounds and stuff, and that's what they have going from trail to trail," she said. "So I thought it would be a good idea for our community to have it," she said.

Hunter's dad, Jason Yost, works for Stark Parks. After he read her essay, he decided to share it with Stark Parks Executive Director Dan Moeglin.

Moeglin said he was impressed by Hunter's paper. At the time, Stark Parks already had a meeting set up with officials in Hartville and Lake Township to discuss the potential project. Moeglin decided to invite Hunter to the meeting to read her paper.

"To me, that was kind of almost the final, deciding factor of 'do we apply for this or not?'" Moeglin said. "Because when there's that much passion in a community ... it's like 'hey, we've got to figure out how to get this done.'"

In Minerva, community support also played a role in the plan for a bridge replacement.

Buell said Stark Parks seriously started considering the project during its latest round of five-year planning, after community members attended public meetings to express their interest in seeing Minerva connect to the Nickel Plate Trail.

Buell said the project also will be a major accessibility upgrade, as some of the existing bridges in the area have stairs leading to them.

"If you have a stroller or you're trying to ride a bike or maybe you've even got bad knees, those bridges can be really challenging," she said.

Reach Paige at 330-580-8577, pmbennett@gannett.com or on Twitter @paigembenn.