This is just a thrilling day.
Thats how David Noble, president of the Donald and Alice Noble Foundation, described May 5 – the day of the official groundbreaking ceremonies for Oak Hill Park.
Noble recounted how the project began years ago when he was offered the opportunity to exercise an option to purchase 100 acres of pristine property near the Nazarene Church on Oak Hill Road and save it from future development.
I thought one day the city of Wooster would love to have a park on this land and low and behold its turning out to be true, said Noble.
Its been a long process, but the culmination of this process is just thrilling to me. I want to thank all of you that have been involved in making this dream come true, said Noble.
Wooster Mayor Bob Breneman looked back to December of 2006 when he was serving on city council and Noble formally approached the city with an event that could change this city for the future.
According to Breneman, when Noble presented a vision for a non-traditional park, the foundation placed a number of conditions on the use of the property, foremost of which was that it be available to all.
The vision for the property was a forest for all seasons containing only a bike/walking path, restrooms and a single picnic pavilion.
Ferenc Relle, Wayne County Community Foundation executive director, noted that by using an Ohio Public Works Commission Clean Ohio grant, the land was acquired by the city and the Noble Foundation donated the receipts of that acquisition to the Wayne County Community Foundation to establish a fund designated solely for the design, construction and maintenance of the park.
Breneman said that with Chuck Malta, now retired parks and recreation manager, leading the charge, and Daryl Decker, public properties assistant manager, tasked with transforming the concept into a reality, landscape architects from CDP Engineers set to work on a master plan for the park, which Joel Montgomery, city engineer, put into final form.
The result will be a park with more than 1.7 miles of paved paths for walking, jogging or biking, as well as natural plantings designed for year-round color.
With a donation by Joan and Gene Buehler, the park will also include a quarter-mile level trail near the pavilion geared for people who may not have the time or ability to use the longer and hillier terrain, said Relle. This level path will help handicapped individuals safely use wheelchairs and walkers to enjoy the surrounding flora.
The Wooster Rotary Club also donated $50,000 for the design and construction of a 30-by-60 foot pavilion near the entrance to the park.
It will be here for our children and their children and hopefully for generations to come, said Tim Swift, Rotary president, of the pavilion. We thank you for allowing us be a part of the history we are creating here today.
In addition to community gatherings, the pavilion will be used as an education center for seminars, displays and demonstrations of the use of pollinator planting, rain gardens and eco-friendly projects that can be duplicated in a home and yard setting.
Taking into account the Clean Ohio grant and generous gifts by the Noble Foundation, the Buehler family, the Rotary, and other private donations, Malta noted that Oak Hill Park is an over $2 million project with a $100,000 city investment.
Breneman stated that construction on the park is expected to be completed in about three months.
