Grant won to study Huntington shoreline
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published June 3, 2009

Metroparks officials believe a recently awarded state grant will help them upgrade the Huntington Beach and Lake Erie area.

James Kastelic, senior planner for the Metroparks, said the $68,250 Coastal Management Assistance Grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will allow the parks system to develop a shoreline management plan for the Huntington Reservation. The area includes the beach and waterfront areas utilized by thousands of people every year.

“Since the park area was originally designed in the 1930s this will help allow us to look at how we can upgrade and improve the area for people,” said Kastelic.

Kastelic said the state grant is being matched by the Metroparks for a total of $136,500 for the project, which will include three different major components. The components include beach protection and bluff stabilization, ecologic restoration and public access to the site.

“Those are all major areas of concern and interest for the parks and the Huntington Reservation area,” he said. “We want to provide the best possible facilities in the park system.”

He said elements of the three major components often cross into each other’s areas.

“We’ll be looking at all of it together and what we can do to deal with the different elements,” he said.

Kastelic noted that many people utilize the beach areas.

“It’s certainly a visible part of the park which provides opportunities for people that aren’t available in other parts of the Metroparks and other park systems,” he said. “Because we’ve got the beach area we want to keep it a strong part of the area.”

He said the grant will help the Park system look at items like making the beach more accessible for some people as well as protecting and preserving the area. He said the bluff protection and ecologic restoration also go along with system goals.

“We want to find ways of properly dealing with and maintaining the bluff areas as well as keeping a good ecological balance for everything,” he said.

He noted that many people with lakefront properties have had to deal with erosion and related issues.

“It’s certainly not a problem exclusive to us and the property in the reservation,” he said. “We certainly will listen to other people and groups about how we deal with the issues.”

He said the plan will also give the Park system the opportunity to consider what changes need to be made in park facilities and the actual site.

“We’re certainly going to look at those access issues as well as other possible changes which could be of benefit,” he said.

Kastelic said there would be public meetings as well as surveys and other attempts to gather as much information and public input as possible.

“It’s going to be an interesting process,” he said, estimating that the study would take about 12 to 18 months to complete.

Bay Village Mayor Debbie Sutherland said the grant will benefit more than just the Metroparks.

“Those facilities are used by many people and are a vital part of the area in the city,” she said. “It’s not just people from Bay Village. Many people come from outside the city to use them.”

She said people coming from outside the area can and often do check out other attractions in the park and surrounding areas.

“If that area is upgraded, then we’re likely to see additional benefits from people utilizing other facilities and businesses that are located nearby,” she said.

On the Web:

• Cleveland Metroparks
• Ohio Department of Natural Resources