Restroom addition at Brunswick Lake approved by planning commission

BRUNSWICK — Brunswick Planning Commission approved the detailed site plan for restrooms at Brunswick Lake during its meeting Thursday. Medina County Park District Director Nate Eppink said the park district has a master plan for Brunswick Lake, which calls for a restroom in the area. There is a restroom at the nearby Susan Hambley Nature Center, but that building is only open for limited periods of time. "I know now with the completion of phase three of the Plum Creek Greenway, which was also done in collaboration with the city, we have more traffic probably heading north to Brunswick Lake," he said. "There's more interest and more of a need for a restroom." Park District Planning Manager Isaac Smith said the restrooms will be a precast concrete structure. The plan is to have two single-use, flushable bathrooms on the west side of Brunswick Lake Parkway that are tied into the city's sanitary and water system. "The idea would be that at least one, if not both, would have a changing table," he said. "We're doing a remodel of our nature center this coming year as well, and we're putting in a family changing unit. We're starting to implement that in multiple facilities." Once the design is finalized, there is a lead time of around six to nine months for production, Smith said. The park district would like to have the restrooms installed by summer 2027. "Once we get that in place and we have all of our permits in place, the construction itself goes very quickly," he said. "Usually, once we get utilities and everything worked out, when we've done these vault restrooms in the past, it's a matter of say a week to two weeks from dropping it into to place to getting it all fit and finished." Planning Commission Chairman Joe Shirilla said since the area around Brunswick Lake is a special planning district, Brunswick City Council will need to approve the project as well. Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.