While it may appear the City of Chardon is at a standstill on Heritage House, the sewer line and road off Water Street and the bike path, Mayor Phil King said recently, there is a lot going on behind the scenes.
Progress is being made on the Heritage House redesign as city staff meets with representatives of the Maple Festival, Kiwanis, Chardon Tomorrow and other stakeholders, King said in an interview after his State of the City address on April 8.
Once they all have provided their input regarding their needs at the redesigned Heritage House, bids will be sought.
Once the redesign is complete this year, the city should advertise for bids this year with construction starting in 2015, he said.
Boosting the process along is the $200,000 grant secured by Sen. John Eklund through legislation passed by the Ohio Legislature recently, King said.
“I am 99 percent certain (the project) will come to fruition. It will be done,” he said.
Meadowland Drive Extension
A contract with developer Loretto Iafelice and a mandate from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are lighting a fire under the city’s plans for Meadowlands Drive construction south of Water Street.
Under the contract, the city has to begin construction of the two-lane residential trunk road by Oct. 15, 2014 or pay a $100,000 penalty, King said. The city is planning to build the first 700 feet of road and add to it in the future.
“We wanted to go at a slow pace,” he said, but the ACE has changed part of that plan.
All the wetlands on the Iafelice property have to be delineated first, King said, then the entire road to Wilson Mills Road must be designed before construction can begin.
In a May 2012 out-of-court settlement, the city agreed to buy Iafelice’s land for $300,000 and give him $210,000 for loss of use of the land, which the city also agreed to rezone for small commercial development.
The city also agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty if it fails to begin the Meadowlands Extension project within three years.
The city has about a year to make the progress on the extension mandated by the contract.
The city has a right of way through two parcels adding up to about 23 acres owned by Loretto Development and through three parcels of about 59 acres owned by Willo Tree Development Inc., according to the Geauga County Auditor’s website. The city owns several parcels between Willo Tree and Wilson Mills Road adding up to about 4.3 acres.
ACE requires the city to lay out the entire extension, even if construction won’t happen soon, King said.
The sewer line scheduled to run from Water Street to Wilson Mills Road should be completed by next year, he said.
Bike Path
The City and the Geauga County Commissioners are in negotiations regarding the Maple Highlands Trail scheduled to be built through the city, King said. The negotiations are being carried out in executive sessions, so progress is not being made public, but King said the city is considering the purchase of some county acreage with frontage on Center Street so the bike path can take the most direct route possible through the city.