Improvement project expected to begin soon at Oxbow Bend

FINDLAY — A major improvement project in the Oxbow Bend Activity Area at Riverbend Recreation Area is set to begin any day. The project will include a new parking lot, curbs and drainage, and a Veterans Pavilion that replaces shelter #5, according to Gary Pruitt, director of the Hancock Park District. There will also be a new playground for children ages 2-12, while pedestrian walkways within the improvement area are replaced. The improvement project is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, if the weather cooperates, he said. "But if it carries over to 2026, that's fine. By the grant agreement, we really have been asked to get it done by the end of June of 2026," he said. Riverbend Recreation Area was the Hancock Park District's first park, which opened in 1976 for America's Bicentennial celebration. The Oxbow Bend area is one of three activity areas in the park located on Township Road 208, along with the Big Oaks and the Meadows activity areas. The improvements are based on a strategic and comprehensive plan approved by the park board in 2014. One of its overarching goals was to replace, upgrade and modernize aging facilities throughout the park system, an objective that was seen again in the next strategic and comprehensive plan in 2023. Most of Hancock County's parks were developed in the 1970s and 80s, Pruitt said. "Riverbend certainly was. So the idea was, well, let's don't just create a lot of new things. Let's improve what we have. That was the message we heard from the people. We agreed with it. We felt like that was the thing to do," said Pruitt. "And from 2016 until now, numerous projects that were in both of the plans have been accomplished." "It was all about replace, upgrade, modernize and make it new," he said. Accessibility is another factor they've been concentrating on, he said. "With every step we took it was let's make sure that people can access it," said Pruitt. In fact, that was a concern when the board considered which groundcover to use for the playground. Pruitt said the fiber mulch that is currently there is not very accessible. "A person in a wheelchair could potentially (navigate the playground area), but that depends on the person," he said. "And it probably depends on the chair. It doesn't speak to other mobility devices like walkers." Instead, playground grass similar to AstroTurf will be used. Pruitt said it's more accessible and provides fall protection while also allowing children to get down on the ground and play. The playground components will offer a number of different ways to climb up into the playing area. "That was the idea. A child could play differently every time," he said. "The new playground will offer high play value. There's going to be a lot to do compared to what it is now." It will also appeal to a larger age range, he said. While the current area is designed for ages 2-5, the updated version will have the potential to entertain children who are 2-12. Some of the earlier improvements at Riverbend started at the Big Oaks area with the addition of one of three new restroom buildings, he said. And in 2018, the Mariann Dana Younger Memorial Pavilion was the first shelter to see an upgrade that incorporated brown county rubble stone and a metal roof. "At that time we said, OK, that's going to decide our new theme in terms of color and building materials, and we're going to carry that throughout the park," said Pruitt. "We did that with the restroom buildings. We did that with the Charles J. Younger Pavilion when we redid number 4 south of Giertz Lake." "So the Oxbow Bend Activity Area, to continue that theme, now we've got a pavilion like this over by the lake. We've got the restroom building, and then we're going to build another pavilion which will look just like the Charles J. Younger pavilion," he said. The pavilion which will be dedicated to veterans at the donor's request. "It's a thank you to past, present, future military personnel," he said. "It's really nothing new in terms of the Hancock Park District's passion and gosh, perpetual thank you to veterans because we've worked with the veterans office on displays in eight of our parks that showcase wars in which Hancock County veterans participated, and we were very happy to do that. So this kind of is one more way." These pavilions measure about 24-by-36 feet with a wraparound concrete wall that allows for increased seating. "So we'll have two identical buildings with the restrooms kind of in the center. And then in addition, a new parking lot. We did a new parking lot in the Big Oaks Activity Area, so now we're going to do a new parking lot (at Oxbow Bend), basically remove, improve the drainage, repave and stripe," he said. In order to implement these plans, Pruitt said the park district needed financial help. "There's no way we'd be able to do it as quickly as we've done it without private donations, and state and local grants," he said. Over $900,000 in state and local grants and private donations is paying for these improvements, which is 93% of the total design development cost, said Pruitt. Restricted donations are paying for the playground and Veterans Pavilion. The probable cost estimate to demolish and then redevelop the parking lot, shelter/pavilion and walkways, and demolish the playground was $815,500.00. The low base bid of $544,988 was submitted by Schimmoeller Construction, Inc. from Kalida. "We added an alternate $5,719. That is to replace all the underground conduit and wiring that connects to the building," he said. "We thought if we're going to do a new pavilion that's 40 years old, let's replace the conduit and wiring that's 40 years old." A different company will install the new playground. When construction begins the Oxbow Bend area will be closed to the public, said Pruitt. A portion of the 1.2-mile loop trail which travels throughout the park will also be off limits. "This work is going to finish off the Oxbow Bend Activity Area improvements. Everything's going to be new here now," he said. Afterward, he said they'll probably turn their attention back to the Big Oaks area with the new playground. Two shelters there also need to be painted and metal roofs added. Improvements at the Meadows area will follow.