Madison Village dedicates its new Arcola Creek Wetlands Park - The News-Herald
A ceremony was held this week to dedicate Madison Village’s new park.
The community’s government leaders gathered Oct. 28 for the event at Madison Village Arcola Creek Wetlands Park. This site is located adjacent to the Madison Senior Center at 2938 Hubbard Road.
Madison Village created the park with a combination of state, federal and county funding.
Construction of the park was completed during the summer. Village Council, at its Aug. 26 meeting, passed a resolution to give the park its formal name. The wetlands park is based on village-owned land that formerly was used as a horticultural nursery. Within the 26-acre property, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delineated 6.29 acres as Category 2 wetlands, Village Administrator Dwayne Bailey said.
Wetlands in Ohio are assigned into categories by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
Category 2 wetlands may include, but are not limited to: wetlands dominated by native species but generally without the presence of, or habitat for, rare, threatened or endangered species; and wetlands which are degraded but have a reasonable potential for re-establishing lost wetland functions, according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Bailey said Arcola Creek also flows into the property from south to north, and empties into Lake Erie a few miles downstream.
Over the course of many years, the condition of streams and wetlands on the Hubbard Road property had been negatively impacted by agricultural drainage ditches, invasive species, incision channelization and soil disturbances, he said.
However, Bailey added that the Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District also identified the land as a great project area for restoration.
The district also provided Madison Village with details about the H2Ohio Statewide Wetland Grant Program as a possible funding source.
Madison Village eventually secured a $500,000 H2Ohio Grant for a wetlands restoration and creation project at its property. This project restored and expanded the existing 6.29 acres of wetlands, and created 1.5 acres of emergent marshland and 6 acres of vernal pools, Bailey said.
In addition, the H2Ohio Grant was used to relocate and restore a stream on the property “to a meandering two-stage channel, with a planted riparian buffer on both banks, and two beaver dam analogs,” Bailey said.
“The project will have a significant impact on water quality by reducing turbidity, as well as sedimentation, nitrogen and phosphorus loading,” he said.
To develop the property into a public park, Madison Village added an observation deck where visitors can observe birds and other wildlife. The deck and a pathway leading to the structure are both ADA accessible. The park also offers a 0.6-mile walking trail with a surface that is a mixture of crushed stone and limestone screenings.
Bailey said Madison Village Arcola Creek Wetlands Park “will not only provide and improve water quality and wildlife habitat, but also will serve as an outdoor lab for local schools, and passive recreation for our residents.”
While the H2Ohio Grant provided $500,000 for the endeavor, Madison Village received funding from several other sources to create the park.
“So this project had a lot of hands on it, a lot of fingerprints on it, a lot of hard work, and we appreciate everybody who’s been involved,” Bailey said.
For example, the village obtained a $75,000 Community Development Block Grant that was approved by Lake County commissioners. The village used that money for the ADA accessible asphalt pathway and observation deck.
Madison Village also got a $50,000 grant from the state capital budget through the efforts of state Sen. Jerry Cirino, R-Kirtland, Bailey said.
Finally, the village qualified for $50,000 in Lake County Stormwater Department funding for permeable pavers to be installed as the base of the site’s parking lot.
The money was allocated from user fees that Madison Village already had paid for its membership in the Lake County Stormwater Management Program.
The county Stormwater Management Department collects these fees to assist member communities in complying with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandates which are intended to improve the quality of the nation’s water. However, the county department also will allocate revenue from the fees back to member communities to provide funding for stormwater maintenance and infrastructure improvement projects.
Bailey said the pervious pavers in the parking lot allow surface water to be absorbed back into the land, instead of running off into ditches and being carried away.
“So we thought that would be a good idea, next to our wetlands project,” Bailey said.