COLERAIN TOWNSHIP - A terraced, lighted amphitheater will be added to Colerain Park as part of a $1.5 million project to develop eight acres added last year and upgrade existing facilities.

        A master plan for the 27-acre park adjacent to Colerain Elementary School on Springdale Road was developed by architects Brandstetter Carroll Inc., and approved by township trustees, after a series of community meetings last summer.

        Bids will be let next month. Construction is expected to begin late this spring and should take nine months to a year, said David Foglesong, township administrator.

        Yellowwood Drive resident Ruth Schneider is eagerly awaiting installation of the 3/4-mile walking trail planned for the park, which abuts her back yard. Mrs. Schneider said the plans she has seen would continue to draw families. One of the reasons she moved to Yellowwood 17 years ago was the park.

        “I like sitting in my back yard. It's happy sounds you hear from the park,” Mrs. Schneider said. “When it's done there will be the megaland for little children, the basketball courts for the teen-agers and walking trails for us older folks. It has something for everyone.”
       

Walk through wetlands
               Parks director Greg Snyder said the walking path would be asphalt except through the wetlands, where it will be a raised wood sur face. Two picnic shelters will be added and a one-story concession stand/restroom facility will be built near the baseball fields, which are being upgraded and will include dugouts and bleachers.

        The entrance will be moved 500 feet west on Springdale Road. The cinder walking path around Colerain Middle School's football field will be get a coat of asphalt and be widened to 16 feet. The cost will be shared with the Northwest Local Board of Education.

        Plans also call for the old basketball court to be replaced with a larger court, and the addition of a playground for young children. A volleyball court will also be refurbished. There will be an area planted with wildflowers.

        “Most of the more passive area of the park is at the north end with the ball fields at the other end,” Mr. Foglesong said.
       

Much-used acreage
               The park is the township's largest developed park and is home to the annual movies-in-the-park and summer recreation programs. Construction is not expected to hinder summer activities, Mr. Snyder said.

        Money for the project will come from the township's general fund, Trustee Joseph Wolterman said.

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