File. A woman navigates the pump track in Rudolph.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
RUDOLPH – A zoning issue that has delayed the Wood County Park District bike park pump track could be resolved in June.
Park district Director Chris Smalley called it “a really cool and beneficial park for both Liberty Township and Wood County.”
Smalley has been working with both the township and the contractor, to get the wheels moving.
“Everyone’s back at the table and it’s amicably moving forward and I want to keep that positive vibe moving forward, with everyone moving in the right direction,” Smalley said.
It’s located in Rudolph, just off the Slippery Elm Trail, at 14045 Mermill Road.
“At the end of the day, the ultimate goal is to have this feature for the residents and we can have something worthwhile,” Smalley said. “My big goal here is to keep it positive and keep it moving forward.”
Smalley inherited the park problem, when he was named the new director in December.
The park was expected to be fully open in September 2020.
Smalley said that it’s not finished because the contractor failed to get the proper zoning permit from Liberty Township to build into a right-of-way, but a zoning meeting next month could resolve the problem. He thinks it was supposed to be done early on in the approval phase, long before Smalley was working at the Park District.
“We’re hoping to get the issue resolved. There’s a hearing in June,” Smalley said. “I’ve worked with the contractor to get the variance paperwork submitted. If all goes well, we’ll be able to get the variance and then move forward making the adjustments and finish construction on the project.”
Smalley explained that the right-of-way issue is near Rudolph Road.
“The township doesn’t want anything in their right-of-way with their drainage and their zoning and whatnot,” he added. “It will be a bigger story next month, if everything goes according to my hopes and dreams.
“I’ve been to trustees meetings and we’re trying to get this resolved for everybody involved,” Smalley said “We’re really passionate about this park.”
The plan is to have four different skills courses at the park, the main feature of which would be a pumptrack. It’s essentially a track designed to require little if any pedaling, by way of a series of banked corners, hills and moguls.
It will have levels ranging from beginner to advanced. The bike park will include a parking lot on the north side, with drive access off Mermill Road. It will have 20 parking spaces and direct access to the Slippery Elm Trail.
“It’s one of the largest asphalt pumptracks in the U.S. So it will provide a pumptrack experience that you are going to have to travel to, if you live in Northwest Ohio, and now it will be in your own backyard,” Smalley said. “It will be somewhat comparable to what skate parks are for skateboarders, but instead of the concrete you see with a skatepark, the bike park will be asphalt.”
He said that there are further developments being discussed with the property, but it needs to be opened first.
“Hopefully, maybe this summer, when this all comes to fruition, we can meet outside and we can have some good pictures, once the project is actually completed and construction’s finished,” Smalley said.
