Mowana property: Maintenance director recommends demolishing 7 structures, keeping 5
Minich recommended keeping five major buildings and demolish seven structures including three homes on the property, most of the cabins, and the pool.
Mowana property: Maintenance director recommends demolishing 7 structures, keeping 5 Minich recommended keeping five major buildings and demolish seven structures including three homes on the property, most of the cabins, and the pool. Check out this story on mansfieldnewsjournal.com: https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/story/news/local/2019/12/19/richland-county-commissioners-camp-mowana-fleming-falls-preserve-2019/2696699001/
Al Lawrence, Correspondent Published 1:56 p.m. ET Dec. 19, 2019 | Updated 1:58 p.m. ET Dec. 19, 2019
MANSFIELD - The Richland County commissioners and the Richland County Park District board have begun what is expected to be a lengthy process of determining how to best utilize facilities at the recently acquired Camp Mowana property off Fleming Falls Road.
The two groups met Tuesday to review a recent facility inventory and discuss which buildings will remain on the former church camp site when it is developed into a public preserve.
The park district obtained the 183-acre property from Lutheran Outdoor Ministries of Ohio through the Trust for Public Land, which received a $2,062,500 grant from the Clean Ohio Fund and the Clean Ohio Conservation Fund. The inventory was conducted over the past several weeks by county maintenance director Chuck Minich with help from the commissioners and park board.
Minich told the commissioners that buildings either have been winterized or secured after their condition was evaluated. His list included recommendations to keep five major buildings and demolish seven structures including three homes on the property, most of the cabins and the pool.
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"The pool and the intermediate hills bath house both are EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) issues, they're one and two on the list and we all agree they need to go," said park district commissioner Cheryl Harner. "The things we have on the list are no-brainers and Chuck and I agree, almost to the man."
Other properties already contracted for demolition include the former director's home, another house that is near the entrance and a green home that is at the rear of the property. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has agreed to pay for the demolition, although the work has to be done within a year.
Harner told commissioners that officials have not decided whether to keep, demolish or sell the cabins, and have put off a decision about the former Oneida Lodge — which was used as the camp's dining area — until they determine what to do with a deteriorating access bridge.
She said there also are "preliminary' thoughts about demolishing the current maintenance building and moving maintenance operations to what was described as the Mohican Lodge at the back of the property.
Minich suggested the maintenance garage could be turned into a picnic area. He said the rest of the buildings are in "pretty good" shape, including a red barn, Oswego Lodge and the 15-year-old Fleming Falls Retreat Center.
"The main lodge is in very good shape. The main problem is the wallpaper is coming off and it's like in every room," Minich said. "As far as needs for that building, it just needs refreshing."
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The two groups also discussed ideas for using volunteers, hiring a part-time employee and using county maintenance department resources as options for short-term building and property maintenance until a formal facility plan developed. Harner said officials are looking at taking a year to decide how the property is going to be used down the road.
"We're not going to run a camp. We're going to open a building at a time as we can afford," she said. "We can get people out and use a little picnic area so they feel like they haven't been shut out of the area."
Park district executive director Jason Larson said the board is looking into funding options for future projects and operations at what will be called the Fleming Falls Preserve. They include a possible levy that would serve the entire park district, funds from the TPL, and grants from the state and private entities such as the Richland County Foundation.
Commissioner Marilyn John urged the park board to make sure it gets the public involved in the planning and funding process as area officials did for recent school projects.
"One of the things that I've seen that has been successful is community meetings," she said. "As you go into next year you might want to have community meetings all around Richland County and hear what their vision could be for it, then you get their buy-in for what you're looking at down the road for funding options."
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It was suggested that some of the meetings could take place on the preserve property so people can see its potential.
"It's a beautiful place to see and we want to make it the best we can make it as a park," Minich said.
The Fleming Falls Preserve will protect more than 4 acres of wetlands, nearly 2 miles of headwater streams and more than 100 acres of forested uplands on Fleming Falls Creek. The creek is a major tributary of the Black Fork of the Mohican River.
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