BY AMY HIGGINS
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UNION TOWNSHIP -- West Chester officials hope to set a new standard for public parks in Southwest Ohio as they develop a system that will grow from 130 to 536 acres by spring.
In the works are state-of-the-art sporting fields, paddle-boat lakes, a community center with a competition pool, three gyms and a senior center. The idea, said Township Administrator Dave Gully, is to offer the community the best of the best and to be the envy of the Tristate.
"Our past offerings in terms of parks were what I consider passive facilities -- a couple of parks with playgrounds and ball fields," Mr. Gully said. "We're taking the whole park idea in a different direction."
Trustee Tom Hayden said the parks will add to the community's quality of life as envisioned years ago by a group of citizens called the 20-20 Committee.
Township leaders' vision for this park system comes in three parts. Mr. Gully said each will have its own niche:
Freedom Park, 300 acres where the Voice of America (VOA) radio relay station now sits, will be the home of "something that does not currently exist in the Greater Cincinnati area," Mr. Gully said: "High-action playing facilities for a variety of different sports . . . built to championship quality."
More than 220 acres of the 550-acre VOA site will be developed by Butler County as a public golf course. The Freedom Park land is free to the township and development costs are estimated at $10 million. Mr. Gully said playing and rental fees will foot the bill.
More than 150 acres next to Beckett Ridge subdivision on Union Centre Boulevard will be developed into a more serene setting. In addition to a few sporting fields and picnic areas, hiking and jogging paths will be built around three lakes. The lakes can also be used for fishing, paddle boats and ice skating.
Development costs are estimated at $1 million.
The land, worth about $4 million, is being bought from the Beckett Ridge developer by Tipton Interests Inc., then traded to the township for the 45-acre McGinnis Park. McGinnis' facilities will move across Cox Road to Freedom Park.
Tipton will turn the McGinnis land -- also worth about $4 million -- into a retail development. Plans are still sketchy, partner Craig Kolb said.
A community center estimated to cost $30 million is planned for the Union Centre racetrack site. Mr. Gully said plans call for a 15-meter, 14-lane competition pool, three gyms, a senior center and a youth center within the building's 300,000 square feet. Negotiations are in the works to get the land for free, Mr. Gully said. And private funds to build the facility also are in the works.
But one Union Township resident worries that the whole plan might be overwhelming. Dan Zieverink, a 32-year West Chester resident, sees the need for more ball parks. Many children aren't afforded the opportunity to play because there aren't enough fields for them, he said.
But Mr. Zieverink questioned the speed at which the parks are developing, and how they'll be paid for.
"Are we going from not being able to crawl to sprinting?" he said. "And what's the proposal to pay for all of that?"
Mr. Gully said costs to the taxpayers will be minimal compared to the benefits received when all of the pieces come together.
