MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Park District Director David Heithaus said it has been an eventful spring with staff and volunteers doing more outdoor activities with the advent of good weather.
“The Friends of the Woods are doing things with invasive species. The Friends of the Kokosing are doing river cleanup just about every weekend,” he told the commissioners on Thursday.
Expanding and improving the parking lot at Zuck Riparian Preserve will begin as soon as weather permits. Improvements to the gravel lots at Greer Landing and Mount Vernon Avenue are also on tap this year.
The Ohio Department of Transportation continues to assist with installing an engineered driveway at the northern part of Wolf Run Regional Park off of Coshocton Road. The assistance also includes a parking lot with several ADA-compliant spaces.
The district submitted Capital Appropriations and Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grants to fund repaving on the Kokosing Gap Trail. The estimated cost is $1.4 million.
“I don’t know what to expect from that. I know there are a lot of asks,” Heithaus said.
Heithaus said the disc golf course at Thayer Ridge will open soon.
“We hope to attract visitors from Licking, Delaware, and Franklin counties where disc golf has become popular enough that players are willing to travel to try new courses,” he said.
The park district sent a letter to communities to gauge interest in partnering on historical signs along the trails. Mohican Valley and Heart of Ohio trail officials are interested.
The commissioners issued a note of caution as too many signs could begin to have an advertising effect.
Miscellaneous outdoor activities
•Resealing the Heart of Ohio Trail from Clayton Road to the Licking County line is slated for early May.
•The district did a prescribed burn at Wolf Run Regional Park.
•TC Energy completed its gas line work on the Kokosing Gap Trail.
•AEP continues working at Honey Run Highlands. The company pushed back the August deadline by at least two months, largely due to weather delays.
•The district is fully staffed with a director, natural resource manager, part-time office manager, and five part-time operations managers. Three college interns have signed on for the summer.
•The Midway Station project in Centerburg is still in process.
•Acquiring property on the Mohican River on Township Road 364 in Coshocton County for Spurgeon’s Landing is still in process.
Additionally, the first-half property tax settlement was lower than the park district board expected. Heithaus will follow up with the county auditor.
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