Cleveland Metroparks looking into acquiring property adjacent to Hinckley Reservation

HINCKLEY TWP. — The Cleveland Metroparks is looking into the prospect of expanding into Hinckley by acquiring property next to Hinckley Reservation. Metroparks Director of Grants Kristen Trolio presented the plan for the property during a Hinckley trustee meeting on Tuesday. The Metroparks is looking to acquire the Harrison property on Ledge Road, which is next to Ledge Pool and recreation area, she said. The parcel is 18.5 acres, and it is currently an agricultural field with a forested buffer. Trolio said the Metroparks is interested in the property because it would serve as a buffer for Ledge Lake and Ledge Pool. The property also has many natural resources and features two small tributaries to Johnson's Creek. "Johnson's Creek is one of our priority watersheds in the Cleveland Metroparks," she said. "It has great biodiversity and protected populations of the West Virginia white butterfly and the queen snake. Protecting these headwater tributaries is really serving as a buffer for that really high-quality watershed." After the acquisition, the plan would be to allow the forested buffer to become larger and for the native plants and native seeds to naturally regenerate, Trolio said. "If we saw development here, you would be developing right at the uppermost reaches of the Johnson's Creek sub-watershed," she said. "It's not where you want to see development because those impervious surfaces are what affects everything downstream." In the future, the Metroparks may look at adding an entrance to Ledge Lake in the southeastern corner of the parcel while the rest would remain as natural land. Trolio said that a new entrance is only a potential part of the project. The total cost to purchase the property and for planning and implementation services is $744,000, Trolio said. The Metroparks completed a Clean Ohio Conservation Fund application for the property and is requesting $440,000. The remaining $304,000 would be paid for by the Metroparks. "We are here asking for support from the township and a letter of support for application to Clean Ohio," she said. "We think it would be a great addition to our Hinckley Reservation." Trustee Monique Ascherl said the board appreciates its relationship with the Metroparks, and she feels the Metroparks adds a lot of appeal to Hinckley; however, she is concerned about the Metroparks owning more property in the township. "To the best of my knowledge, the Metroparks currently owns about 20 percent of the land in Hinckley, so that is 20 percent of the land that we are not collecting taxes on," she said. "I would have a hard time supporting any additional land being owned by the Metroparks simply because I don't think it's fair to our residents." As the Metroparks get larger, Hinckley has to adapt to it, Ascherl said. The Metroparks also use resources like the fire department and township roads. "I don't feel that is necessarily fair to our residents, that they're really picking up a lot of that slack," she said. "I hope that our relationship continues to be a positive, open relationship, but at the end of the day, I feel that our responsibility is to our residents." Trolio said Hinckley Township residents have voted in favor of supporting the Metroparks. "We have economic benefit studies that show how much benefit the parks bring to a community in terms of increases in property value, stormwater management, air pollution control and recreation benefits," she said. The board of trustees did not announce during the meeting whether it would write a letter of support for the project. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.