Posted on February 6, 2018
By Katie White, Morning Journal
A project to revamp Mirror Lake in the Harvey S. Firestone Park is on schedule to begin next month, pending council approval.
The project received unanimous approval from the park board during its recent meeting following a presentation from the Columbiana Restoration and Beautification (R&B) Committee and Herbert, Rowland and Grubic Inc.
The R&B is spear-heading the project that is a portion of the committee’s overall $3.2 million improvement plan for the park.
The committee has already hired HRG for the design, and both are scheduled to present the finalized Mirror Lake plans to city council at its Feb. 6 meeting.
Park Board President Dr. Ron Detwiler said the project would not have been possible without the generous donation from R&B Committee member Pat Tingle.
In September of last year Tingle privately donated $500,000 of her own funds toward the Mirror Lake project in honor of her late son David who passed away earlier that year.
The donation covered the entire cost of the project.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s amazing what $500,000 can do,” Detwiler said, adding that he is impressed with the plans.
Plans include dredging the lake and installing new stones and retaining walls, as well as new seating and a memorial garden and plaque honoring Tingle’s son.
Plaques commemorating Harvey S. Firestone and Thomas Edison will also be featured.
If council approves the plans on Feb. 6, the project can go out to bid that month, Detwiler said.
He also said that several contractors have already shown an interest.
“We have people just flooding us wanting to know when that is going to happen and wanting to be part of that project,” he said.
He also said that people should be aware that none of the fish in the lake are going to be destroyed during the process and that while three mature trees will be cut down, 31 new trees and bushes will be planted.
He explained that park employees will remove the fish from the lake and place them in buckets while it is dredged, and then return them to the lake.
Upon Detwiler’s suggestion, the park board approved the plans with a stipulation that a cap of $500,000 be placed on the project to ensure it does not cost more than budgeted.
“We are really happy that after three and a half years of planning we are finally going forward with it,” Detwiler said.
In addition to crediting Tingle for her help with the project, he also credited the R&B for securing more than $1 million of the $3.2 million overall park project.
Source: Morning Journal
