Colerain Township, Ohio

Message from the Director of Parks & Services

Fall 2008

Dear Residents and Visitors,

Having just completed my first full year as your new Parks & Services Director, it brings me great joy to update you on the happenings of the Department.

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.

In the winter and spring of 2008, residents and Township officials came together at several public meetings to gather input into the redevelopment of Clippard Park, located in the Season's subdivision near Bevis Elementary. After several meetings and various artists renditions of the proposed changes, residents and trustees have come up with a plan that brings great improvements to the park. An engineer will be selected his fall who will draw up the blue rpints and specifications so that it can go out to bid this winter and construction can begin in the spring. Plans include a walking trail, baseball fields, 2 picnic shelters which will be available for rental once complete, new restroom facilities, new playground, a spray ground, additional parking and an additional 5 acres of land wich will give the park an additional entrance off of Bevis Lane. Please click here to see the various concept plans that were brought to the public and Township. Updates will be posted on this site as they become available.

Thanks to Home Depot, the UC/XU Crosstown Helpout, the residents of Skyline Acres and the hundreds of volunteers that they brought with them, Skyline Park received a complete facelife on July 26, 2008.
The basketball court was resurfaced, new play equipment was installed, a walking path with fitness stations was added and connected the park with the Community Center, a fence was installed along Pippin Road, the existing fence was cleared of debris and repainted, the creek bed was cleaned out, the path and steps from the Community Center to the Park were replaced, and both the Park and Community Center received new landscaping.

Construcution will continue at Groesbeck Park in the coming months adding three new baseball fields. When construction is complete, the park will offer three baseball fields, a football field and a concession stand.

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 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 was completed in the Spring of 2007 thanks to grant money from the State of Ohio. In the fall of 2008, irrigation will be installed on each of the four baseball fields to keep the grass and playing surface in healthy condition for the field users. Please continue to check back on our Heritage Park page for updates and additional information.

We have also just finished another successful summer at the Colerain Park, which was renovated in 2003. 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, have helped keep residents and visitors (and their canine friends) fit and healthy with the 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 the parks mentioned above, the Township has 5 additional smaller parks for residents to enjoy. To get a complete description of all of the Township's parks, please click here.

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.

Sincerely,
Kevin Schwartzhoff

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