Message from the Director of Parks & Services
Fall 2007
Dear Residents and Visitors,
This is a very exciting time for the Colerain Township Parks & Services Department. Over the past few years we have not only grown and expanded with the addition of new park land, but we have also begun the process of renovating some of our existing park facilities.
The old Wilhelm Farm, 126 acres at 11405 East Miami River Road, was purchased by the Township in 2000 for a river park. After extensive planning and construction, Heritage Park was opened to the public on September 6, 2005. Phase 1 is complete and includes disk golf, canoe access, walking trails, an eco-lab, as well as parking and roadways. The Board of Trustees has also approved the construction of four NCAA size, state of the art baseball fields with an additional parking lot. Originally scheduled to be a part of Phase 2 construction, the ball field construction began in late summer 2006 thanks to grant money from the State of Ohio. Please continue to check back on our Heritage Park page for updates and additional information.
We have also just finished our fourth successful summer at the new, improved and expanded Colerain Park. The additional facilities have allowed us to expand our free entertainment programs, have provided more sheltered picnic areas for residents, is an additional location for Township events such as the traveling Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall and Township Safety Fair, have helped keep residents and visitors fit and healthy with the new walking trail, it has given little league baseball teams two spectacular playing fields and overall it has given the residents of this Township a park they can be proud of.
Outside of our two largest parks, the Township has 7 additional smaller parks for residents to enjoy. Dravo Park reconstruction began in August of 2006. Currently housing four baseball fields that become less than ideal soccer fields in the fall, the Park is being turned into a soccer only complex. When complete, Dravo Park will have new play equipment, fencing, parking lot resurfacing, a canoe ramp (completed in early 2006) and a new name - the Obergiesing Soccer Complex, named after our sister city Obergiesing, Germany. Clippard Park, one of the Township's oldest parks, is also in need of renovation. The original layout was done in the 1970's and was poorly planned. I have received approval from the Board of Trustees to hire a design firm to re-design the park to provide better baseball field, bathroom, shelter and play equipment layout with construction of the plans to follow in 2007-2008. Many improvements have been made to the Skyline Community Center over the past few years and improvements to the playground next door will follow.
Many will be surprised to learn that we are not just a Parks Department. When the Board of Trustees created the department in 1987, they gave us the charge of not only maintaining the parks of the Township but being a service department as well. Most communities have separate parks and services departments, but we have been very successful in combining the two. As a service department, we maintain historical cemeteries; put on annual events such as the Taste of Colerain, Fourth of July Spectacular and Recycle Day; host regularly scheduled free entertainment events for residents; handle Township building and grounds maintenance; maintain Township road berms; organize community service projects; coordinate Township recycling; work on the conservation of Township greenspace; maintain the Township's web site; and take on the extra tasks of the other Township departments so that they are not pulled away from their primary duties to name just a few things.
We also assist residents in obtaining historical information on the Township. I am proud to announce the addition of a new page on our web site which gives visitors access to on-line copies of our historical publications including our cemetery inscription book. Please click here to view this page and learn more about Colerain Township.
Please explore the links below to learn more about the Colerain Township Parks & Services Department. If you would like any additional information on our department or of me as your Parks & Services Director, please do not hesitate to contact me at (513)385-7503.
Township Parks • Rules & Regulations • Summer Camp • Shelter Rental
Ball Field Schedules • Movies in the Park • Concerts in the Park •
Easter Egg Hunt • Message from the Director
Up