SMALL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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Meet Covent Garden Florist owners Pib and Jeff Hallmark.
Volume 49 Number 48 © 2010 The Community Press ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
JOURNAL
Your Community Press newspaper serving Anderson Township, California, Mount Washington, Newtown E-mail: foresthills@communitypress.com We d n e s d a y, F e b r u a r y 2 4 , 2 0 1 0
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Trustee puts brakes on trail O’Brien calls bike/hike segment ‘sidewalk to nowhere’
By Lisa Wakeland
lwakeland@communitypress.com
Collection Time
In the next few days your Community Press carrier will be stopping by to collect $2.50 for delivery of this month’s the Fehrenbach Forest Hills Journal. Your carrier retains half of this amount along with any tip you give to reward good service. This month we’re featuring Kevin Fehrenbach, a fifthgrader at Mercer Elementary School, who loves to play guitar. He also plays football, Little League baseball and enjoys rollerblading, biking, skateboarding and running with his family. For information about our carrier program, call circulation manager Steve Barraco at 2487110, or e-mail him at sbarraco@communitypress.com.
Progress on plans for a new bike/hike trail segment recently ground to a halt at a special Anderson Township Trustees meeting. A vote on a final resolution for construction of a 1.3-mile segment of the Ohio River Trail is on hold after Trustee Kevin O’Brien voiced his concerns about the project. Trustee Vice President Peggy Reis was not at the Feb. 16 special meeting. This segment, on Kellogg Avenue between Sutton and Five Mile roads, is the first piece of the planned 16-mile trail that would eventually connect New Richmond and Lunken Airport. O’Brien said he does not want to spend money on a “sidewalk to nowhere” when there are few homes in the area and the trail would have a low level of use.
Poll results
The results of the Feb. 17 unscientific poll on our Anderson Township community site at Cincinnati.com/andersontowns hip asking readers if Anderson Township trustees should authorize spending $150,000 to build a vehicular connector road between the Mercy HealthPlex on State Road and the Anderson Center on Five Mile Road are: Yes:
(27) 29%
No:
(66)
Total votes: 93
71%
heading to Coney Island, River Downs and Riverbend, even if the use is sporadic. O’Brien said he would feel more comfortable if the city of Cincinnati would confirm a
Trail costs Anderson Township is required to pay $301,504 for construction of a 1.3mile asphalt segment of the Ohio River Trail. Trustee President Russ Jackson said the township budgeted more than $730,000 for the trail construction. The township has already spent approximately $350,000 on engineering costs, said Steve Sievers, development services director and assistant administrator for operations.
Voice your opinion
Anderson Township Trustee Kevin O’Brien doesn’t want to spend $301,504 to build a 1.3mile segment of the Ohio River Trail on Kellogg Avenue between Sutton and Five Mile roads (see story, A1). What do you think? Let us know by going online and voicing your opinion by typing Cincinnati.com/anderson township into your Web browser’s address bar and voting on our poll. We’ll run the results in next week’s edition of the Forest Hills Journal.
Anderson Township’s portion of trail construction is $301,504, which will come from the tax increment financing fund. The remaining $1.2 million is funded through three grants including federal stimulus money. Township Administrator Vicky Earhart said though there aren’t many homes in the area the trail would be beneficial for pedestrians
Though many rights of way were donated to the township, Sievers said approximately $300,000 was spent to buy other rights of way and an easement. It is property the township would like to resell once the trail is constructed, he said. Anderson Township has received more than $1.2 million in grants for the trail construction.
FILE PHOTO
Anderson Township is planning to build a 1.3-mile segment of the Ohio River Trail along Kellogg Road. This 16-mile trail would eventually connect New Richmond to Lunken Airport. There would also be connections to the Lunken bike path, shown here, and the Little Miami Trail.
Neighbors’ concern changes design By Lisa Wakeland lwakeland@communitypress.com
The proposed rear portion of Johnson Hills Park will have a slightly different look. After multiple residents from the Sanctuary of Ivy Hills neighborhood, which abuts the park, expressed concern about the back entrance amenities Anderson Township Park District officials modified the plans. Executive Director Ken Kushner said the parking lot has moved deeper into the park, the restrooms have been moved and the orchard is closer to the park property line in the new design. “There is a substantial amount of greenspace between us and the neighbors,” he said. Kushner added that the road to the parking lot at the back entrance, off Crooked Stick Court, would be cut at a downward grade to further reduce visibility of cars to neighboring homes. The Park District has also proposed creating berms topped with trees to provide an additional buffer for the neighborhood. Both Lynn Finzer and Greg Fermann, who live closest to the park’s back entrance, said they are
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The Anderson Township Park District modified the back of the proposed Johnson Hills Park Plan after neighbors in the Sanctuary of Ivy Hills neighborhood expressed concerns. The key: B1, restored Moorman House; B2, family restroom; B3, flower and herb garden; B4, barn and office; B5, vegetable garden and orchard; B6, parking lot for 10 cars. pleased that the Park District has been listening to their concerns, but still have some issues. Fermann said the restroom facility is actually closer to his home than in the original plan and he would like to see the parking lot moved further into the park. He said the buffer, however, is a big improvement to shield his home from park activity. Finzer shares Fermann’s concerns, but also questions the proposed trail head near the end of
her front yard and the community demand for the restored Moorman House at the back of the park. “It really is a matter of placing the Board in the position of the homeowner, viewing it from the perspective of a neighbor,” she wrote in an e-mail. “We are hopeful there is a well thought out plan for the stages of completion before it all begins.” Both Fermann and Finzer said they are meeting with Kushner to further discuss the changes.
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timetable to complete its portion of the trail and does not want to spend the money when there will be “a low level of use for 10 years or more.” Trustee President Russ Jackson said the city has previously committed to completing its portion of the trail and much of the remaining discussion is alignment and funding. Steve Sievers, assistant administrator for operations and development services director, said pulling out of the project after years of planning and millions of dollars in awarded grant money could jeopardize the township’s chances of being awarded similar grants in the future. “We’ve had a lot of success with regional trails,” he said, adding that trails like this are typically constructed in segments. “This is laying the groundwork for redevelopment of that area.”
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The contract between the Anderson Township Park District and Arcadia Communications to build a cell tower in Johnson Hills Park expired Feb. 5. Park Commission President Duffy Beischel said Arcadia Communications never acted on the option to build the cell tower Neighbors who lived near the park lambasted the proposal for a monopole cell tower, similar to the one in Beech Acres Park. Supporters said the tower would have generated significant revenue for the Park District. Beischel said he would not rule out the possibility of working with another company to bring a cell tower to the park in the future.
About the park
Johnson Hills Park is near the intersection of Bridle and Little Dry Run roads. Proposed amenities include a large shelter, fishing lake, disc golf, tent camping and community gardens. Executive Director Ken Kushner said it will take decades to fully develop the park and engineers, architects and other professionals will be consulted throughout the process for feasibility and cost issues.
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