Park district supports benching efforts at Civitan Park

The Hancock Park District Board of Park Commissioners approved a resolution Tuesday stating that the sale or transfer of Hancock Park District land, including Civitan Park, to the city of Findlay "will result in the best public use of the land." The city has indicated a desire "to purchase or otherwise take ownership of Hancock Park District land, including Civitan Park and undeveloped land along the Blanchard River," the resolution states. The resolution also states that the city has determined a benching project is needed to mitigate flooding in the area. Hancock Park District Director Gary Pruitt said he read in The Courier that the city wanted the land, and Pruitt then met with city officials to confirm this. The area includes Civitan Park as well as undeveloped land adjacent to it. The resolution also states that "even though the improvement and expansion of Civitan Park was contemplated in the Hancock Park District's Strategic and Comprehensive Plan … the fact is that Civitan Park has been subject to minimal improvements for over a decade given the uncertainty involving undeveloped land adjacent to the park. While all other developed River Parks and other parks throughout the Hancock Park System were beneficiaries of improvements beginning in 2016, Civitan Park has, for the most part, been excluded from the implementation of an action plan aimed at replacing, upgrading and modernizing facilities." The resolution further states that the city "is expected to invite consultants to submit qualifications to assist in creating a design plan for a downtown recreational and gathering area. The proposed area is approximately 19 acres split into two segments (3 acres and 16 acres). ... It is the desire of the city and other stakeholders to determine how the benched area may also provide recreational, entertainment and general community benefit" while also providing flood mitigation. Pruitt said the park commissioners would need to pass the resolution determining it is the best use of the land in order for the Hancock County Probate Court to later approve the sale or transfer. Therefore, Tuesday's vote was not a decision to sell or transfer the land, but passing the resolution was the first step in doing so. Pruitt said this would then prepare for if the city approaches the park district, which might happen as soon as August. The board voted 2-0 to approve the resolution, with commissioners Gary Hirschfeld and Scott Younger voting in favor. Commissioner Edward Ingold was absent. Pruitt, in an email to The Courier following the meeting, stated, "Civitan Park was transferred to the Hancock Park District by the Hancock County Commissioners via resolution dated May 29, 1974. Actual ownership occurred on November 28, 2006, via a Quit-Claim Deed. Land along the river, east of Civitan Park, was acquired in 2001. "There is a section of the Blanchard River Greenway Trail (the section in Civitan Park) that is owned by the Hancock Park District. The remaining section (between Civitan Park and Main Street) was leased and managed by the Hancock Park District for many years." In other news, the park commissioners voted 2-0 to approve a request to raise rental rates at park facilities and shelters. Hirschfeld asked if the Mariann Dana Younger Memorial Pavilion, being one of the district's nicest facilities, should cost more to rent than the others. But, Pruitt said, it serves the same number of people as any of the other shelters. Separately, a citizen approached the meeting on behalf of a group of hunters, requesting that the park commissioners consider changing restrictions on where hunting is permitted. He confirmed he's particularly interested in the Oakwoods wetland that's being constructed. He said hunters all go through a hunter safety program, and "special care" is taken when they are out hunting. "We do eat what we harvest," rather than shooting more birds than needed, he said. The board took no action on the matter Tuesday, but agreed to look into it further. Also at the meeting, naturalist Michelle Rumschlag said two of the park district's one-day camps for children in August are already filled, and the kayak float trips remain popular. She anticipates announcing fall programming around the middle of August. Arthurs: 419-427-8494