Trail and aesthetic upgrades touted at State of the Parks

by Wendy Turrell

Bath Township Parks Director Jeff France opened the State of the Parks address on May 21 with a simple but true declaration, “We have a lot going on in the parks.”

Major improvements have already been completed; with many ongoing projects in the works for the park department’s one part-time worker, three full-time employees and temporary summer help.

Bath Community Park

Bath Community Park has a new children’s playground and France said the zipline addition is a popular attraction. New lights have been installed to shine on the American flag, and a new electric panel was erected near the basketball court. Major tree clearing was completed in in May to allow for parking lot expansion by the football field, which will see a new scoreboard.

The park will be closed this summer to complete other projects that are part of its master plan including addressing stormwater drainage problems, revamping pickleball and tennis courts, and adding new trail connectivity. The Chief Logan statue has suffered weather damage over the years and has become a safety issue. France said it will be removed, and a couple of artists have been contacted to submit designs for a replacement.

Bath Nature Preserve

The parks department has been equally busy in the Bath Nature Preserve, where stone trails have been improved by the addition of Ohio Department of Transportation 10 stone to make it more ADA accessible. Work will begin this summer on developing a Victory Gallop Trail, which will allow Victory Gallop Farm horse riders to access the park trails. Other work includes preserving the North Fork Trail asphalt path.

Completed improvements include removing water tanks and replacing them with eight rain barrels, adding a bench and fixing the community garden fence. The Regal Beagle shelter had its doors and windowsills fixed and the screening replaced. France announced that a kayak launch will be open at Bath Pond from June through September.

Future projects include widening the entrance driveway, paving the trail head area by the kiosk and bathrooms, and repainting parking areas that include the horse trailer lot.

Bath Baseball Park

Bath Baseball Park had its trails dressed with ODOT 10 stone to allow ADA access. New bluebird boxes have been installed, and there is a new ABI Force baseball machine in service. Fields No. 2 and No. 5 are scheduled for renovation this year.

In coming years, France hopes to recondition all baseball fields and repaint parking areas. He commented that with approximately 1,000 games per year played on the fields, there is a lot of maintenance required to keep them in good condition.

North Fork Preserve

The North Fork Preserve is undergoing driveway, parking lot and stormwater improvements. Loop 1 Trail will be top dressed with the same ODOT 10 stone used in the other parks, and France hopes to add this to all NFP trails over the next year or two.

Bath Hills Park

Bath Hills Park will also have ODOT 10 stone trails this year. Summit Metro Parks plans to connect a trail from the Metro Bus Station to the Towpath Trail, which will pass through Bath Hills Park. Possible future projects include expanding the parking area and improving the sports field.

France’s first year as parks director has been busy with additional projects of new flower planters at all park entrances, restriping of all parking lots in the parks and a plan to replace 25-30 safety bollard posts throughout the parks. He said the addition of a new Toro Workman UTX four-wheel-drive utility task vehicle has been an enormous help to staff.