Perrysburg Township’s recreation director has made a pitch to pump up township’s paltry parks.

Bob Warnimont asked the township trustees at their meeting Wednesday to consider spending $35,000 to improve a ball field on Lime City Road.

“A long time ago, we used to have two ball fields,” he said. “Today we don’t have one, and I think it’s time that we step up and start doing something for our kids.”

“We have small parks, but nothing really in them,” Mr. Warnimont said.

The township also has property on Simmons Road near I-75 that was donated by Mary Cranker to be used as a park.

According to a 2019 Blade story covering Ms. Cranker’s estate gift of $1 million to the Perrysburg Schools Foundation, she was an only child and never married. She died in October, 2017, at the age of 99 after living her entire life in Perrysburg and the township. 

“The comment was that we would make baby steps toward [park improvements there],” Mr. Warnimont said. “I think the baby’s three years old.”

He said people have asked him about developing a dog park. Other discussions over the years have included digging a pond, similar to Friendship Park in Lake Township, and making an archery area, Mr. Warnimont said.

“We do a lot of talking, but we don’t take any action,” he said.

Trustee Gary Britten, who attended the Ohio Township Association’s Winter Conference earlier this week, said they should apply for grant funding for the parks.

“A lot of it is 20 percent match, some are 50 percent match. There’s some money to be had there,” Mr. Britten said.

There are more pressing priorities than parks right now, he said.

The trustees expect to place a police levy renewal, replacement, or additional funding ask on the Nov. 5 ballot.

“We’ve got to concentrate on that,” Mr. Britten said. “I’m not saying it’s not wanted or needed by the people, but we’ve got to make sure our services don’t falter.

“I’m on the finance committee and we have no money to spend,” he said. “We’re taking $800,000 out of general fund to fund the police department this year. That’s unsustainable. And I can’t say we’re going to put $200,000 into that park when we need that money for our services. I can’t vote for that.”

The township leaders must do a better job with the parks, said Trustee Joe Schaller.

“It’s an embarrassment to the township,” he said. “Ms. Cranker willed us that property to be used as a park, and we haven’t done anything with it.”

He said the local carpenters union had offered its services to build infrastructure, there was a deal on stone from a local company, and Bass Pro Shops had offered to mow it.

“We had a lot of things headed in the right direction, I believe, and we didn’t do it,” Mr. Schaller said.

Trustee Bob Mack said there are many things that go into making a park, such as drainage, parking, and site plans. 

“We made a deliberate decision that we were going to pump the brakes and put this on hold, and we were not to bring it up again until we felt we had the resources to deploy, to make it the way it should be for Perrysburg Township,” he said. “I wish we had a different answer.”

In a follow-up interview, Mr. Warnimont said the township also operates parks in the Starbright subdivision and at the Perrysburg Heights Community Center.

“I understand the trustees are trying to do a lot of projects right now,” Mr. Warnimont said, citing the new administration building as one. 

“Eventually it will happen,” he said of park funding.

The Wood County Park District has parks in the township. They include Sawyer Quarry Nature Preserve on Lime City Road, the Buttonwood Recreation Area on Hull Prairie Road, and the JC Reuthinger Memorial Preserve on Oregon Road.

In September, 2023, the township trustees declined a request by county park district officials to help acquire 33 acres and expand Reuthinger.

They decided not to give the requested $100,000, or any amount, to the park district, which was seeking to round up $800,000, then apply for a $400,000 Clean Ohio Green Space Conservation Program grant.

The park district had other partners, including the commissioners and Wood County Port Authority, and eventually received the state grant and proceeded with the park expansion.

At the time, Mr. Britten said Reuthinger was a worthwhile project, but the trustees were already behind on developing the Simmons Road park. He estimated the cost then at $250,000 and acknowledged that the township’s comprehensive plan showed a need for more parks and recreation.

First Published February 7, 2025, 6:31 p.m.