A local grant that was received last year will hopefully see some progress this year.
Greene County Conservation Director Tanner Scheuermann says they are continuing to work with Xenia Rural Water District to extend new water service at Squirrel Hollow Park. He points out that due to weather-related delays and needing to finalize plans with Xenia that their project, which received a Greene County Community Foundation grant of $35,000 last year, hasn’t started implementation yet.
Scheuermann explains that the existing well wasn’t deemed cost effective to keep using that for campers, and so the decision was made to go with new water service. He details what the project will entail once it starts later this spring and summer.
“Any of the old infrastructure that will get replaced with new infrastructure, whether that be boring in new lines and things like that. We are confident that we can, for now until we start moving into building new campground, revamping the old campground, we are able to use the old lines. So, we will still have water at the shelter, we will still have water down in the campgrounds it’ll just be cleaner and treated.”
Schuermann states that the Conservation Board has discussed the next phase of improvements for Squirrel Hollow Park is updating the electrical.
“The park proper itself needs a total overhaul as far as the electrical. It’s been almost 50 years since anything major has been done out there. So, really this will be the next big step to inviting those campers back. These modern campers need adequate electricity (and) adequate water. So those are the first kind of two pieces of the puzzle that we wanted to put together to allow that to happen.”
Scheuermann adds that these projects are inline with the master plan that was put together with the Conservation Board and from the two public input meetings that were held last year. He says the overall goal is not to over-develop that park because of its historical significance, with it being the second oldest county park in the state that was built in 1934.