Rittman nature preserve named for mayor
“I almost fell over the hill,” Rittman Mayor William Robertson said on Tuesday after he unveiled the sign bearing his name at the groundbreaking ceremony of what he thought was going to be called the Rittman Nature Preserve.
Unbeknownst to Robertson, Rittman city manager Bobbie Beshara had other plans for the preserve’s name — the William J. Robertson Nature Preserve — and she managed to keep it a secret.
The idea for the nature preserve started in 2005. Two weeks after Robertson was sworn in as mayor, he received a notice that one of the city’s manufacturing facilities, Caraustar Paper, would cease operations. In 2006 the facility closed its doors. Robertson had to figure out what to do with nearly 300 newly acquired acres of land complete with deteriorating buildings that posed a safety threat to the community.
In March 2012 it was announced Hull and Associates purchased the land, and the city supported their efforts of building a nature preserve. “We were so excited that we held a ribbon cutting for the demolition (of the buildings),” Robertson said.
But there were problems.
“Over the next five years, Hull and Urban Renewables II (a subsidiary of Hull and Associates) worked through the myriad of legal and (Environmental Protection Agency) issues to get the property certified clean,” Robertson said.
Then it was discovered only about 100 of the 300 acres could be used for economic development. The other 200 acres consisted of ponds, swamps and a landfill.
In 2018 the city received a $2.5 million grant from the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, and plans were put in motion to open the preserve to the public in 2019.
Not so fast.
A title search uncovered a lien against the property that needed to be cleared up.
More hurdles.
According to Robertson, the EPA had certified the land clean for industrial use, not recreational use. Additional testing was needed to approve the land for recreational use. Test results concluded more cleanup was necessary.
With the additional EPA criteria met, it was finally time to open.
Enter COVID-19, the global pandemic that put a halt to everything — including nature preserve groundbreaking ceremonies. Once again, the big day was delayed.
“But here we are today, exactly four months away from our October completion date,” Robertson said. “What a journey.”
A new construction phase will bring the preserve another step in the right direction when Mark Haynes Construction begins work on the handicap-accessible trains, parking lots, driveways, boardwalk, picnic shelter, observation deck, and a canoe and kayak launchpad.
“Without the perseverance and dedication of Mayor Robertson to this project, it probably would not have come to fruition,” Wayne County commissioner Sue Smail said. “This is a resource that will not only add value to Rittman, but the entirety of Wayne County and the surrounding area.”
During her introduction, Beshara recalled the countless hours Robertson had dedicated to the project over the years. She thanked his wife Donna for her support. “She saw her husband, day after day, take his equipment to the property to clear out the dreaded Phragmites, mow, weed-whack, direct volunteers, take out shrub trees and do any work necessary to prepare for construction.”
Dan Starcher is a public communications specialist for the Wayne County government.