June 17, 2010

Land Conservancy to help create Ashtabula County park

A joint project involving Ashtabula County, its park system, a sportsmen’s organization and the Land Conservancy may result in the creation of a new 92-acre park just west of Jefferson.
The Land Conservancy has an agreement to purchase the Lampson Reservoir property from the county within the next two years and then transfer it to the Ashtabula County Metroparks. The Ashtabula Sportsmen’s Recreational Land Conservation League and Ashtabula County have each contributed $40,000 toward the down payment on the property.

If the Land Conservancy is able to secure the remaining funding and complete the purchase, the land will become a county park. Park officials have indicated the property could be used for fishing, horse trails and even regulated hunting.

Twenty-two-acre Lampson Reservoir was the drinking water source for Jefferson Village until about 20 years ago, when the village water system was sold to Ohio Water Service. OWS transferred the property to the county with the understanding that it would be developed into a park.

The property straddles Mill Creek, a major tributary to the Grand River, and contains a high-quality wetland complex. For more than a decade, the park system has wanted to purchase the property but has not had the funds to buy it or to maintain the lake’s dam, which needs repairs.

In order to assess the dam’s condition, the county has agreed to lower the water level in Lampson Reservoir before transferring the property to the Land Conservancy. The county will also contribute up to $10,000 toward engineering work related to the dam. Eddie Dengg, a Land Conservancy vice president, said the organization has launched an effort to secure funding for the project from public sources and foundations.