Explanation
This ordinance is to authorize the Director of the Recreation and Parks Department to enter into a grant agreement with the Ohio Public Works Commission and to accept and appropriate the grant ($900,000.00) and matching funds ($300,000.00) for the 2019 Clean Ohio Round 13 project: Dysart Run Protection Project. The project will authorize the City Attorney to spend the funds to acquire in good faith certain fee simple title and lesser real estate located in the vicinity of East Broad Street and Waggoner Road.
Background: The Far East side neighborhoods of Columbus are one of the city’s most underserved areas for parks, open spaces, and conservation lands.
Dysart Run is located on the city’s far-east side, near East Broad Street and Waggoner Road. The stream is a main tributary of Blacklick Creek, and this site is one of the largest remaining forested tracts in the entire Blacklick Creek watershed. The property contains 41.5 acres and is adjacent to a Recreation and Parks natural area along a ravine of Dysart Run, bringing the total conservation area to over 50 acres. The site is listed for sale as potential development land. Acquiring the property provides significant long term preservation of water quality, urban forest, wildlife habitat, and future development of walking paths for area residents.
Principal Parties:
Ohio Public Works Commission
65 East State Street, Suite 312
Columbus, OH 43215
Clean Ohio Conservation Fund-District 3
Emergency Justification: The properties to be acquired with these funds are listed for sale, and the Department wishes to acquire them before they are not available. The grantor also requires a completion date of 07/31/2020.
Benefits to the Public: Protection of the city’s high quality waterways, greenway corridors, ravines, and urban forests. The site is within a rapidly urbanizing area of the city, and preservation of key natural sites is one of the main missions of Recreation and Parks. Conservatio...
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