Explanation
Ordinance 2334-2019 authorized the Director of Recreation and Parks to accept and appropriate a grant ($900,000.00) and matching funds ($300,000.00) from Ohio Public Works Commission Clean Ohio Fund to apply towards the total acquisition costs for real estate located in the vicinity of East Broad Street and Waggoner Road. This ordinance will provide the additional funds needed to complete the acquisition, authorizing the City Attorney to spend the funds to acquire in good faith certain fee simple title and lesser real estate at this location.
Background: In 2019, the Department applied for and received a grant for $900,000.00 from the Clean Ohio Fund to acquire a 41.5 acre site on the Far East near East Broad and Waggoner Road. It was anticipated that the grant funds and match requirement of $300,000 would not be sufficient for the entire acquisition cost, and a that a second piece of legislation would need to be authorized once the final costs were determined.
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:
N/A
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 granto...
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