Amherst News-Times, 1999-08-25

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Comets prepare for gridiron season — Page 7    Speed monitors tested — Pag
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Amherst.  Ohio
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Design company hired for West Side Park
A Cleveland firm has been hired
by the Lorain County MetroParks
board to begin design work on the
34-acre West Side Park.
Behnke & Associates, a park design company, is expected to begin
architectural design work this week
on the park's layout based on a master plan approved by the city and the
park board.
The facility will be located behind the police station between N.
Lake and N. Main streets and is expected to be completed by next
summer, according to MetroParks
director Dan Martin.
Among the first projects in the
$1.8 million park will be construction of a 2,100 square-foot enclosed
pavilion that can be used year-
around. An open pavilion for picnics during warm weather also will
be built, although Martin said he expects the enclosed facility to be used
by a variety of community groups,
including non-profits.
"It will have a wide variety of
uses all year and will be in a nice
location that will let people see a lot
of the park," he explained.
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Among the first projects in the $1.8 million dollar park will be the
construction of a pavilion for year-round activities. This drawing
shows a design style for the project.
Library will focus
on interior facelift
to create space
The Amherst Public Library is in
the process of planning a major in-
, tenor renovation to provide it with
more space for books and enable it
to better meet patron needs.
Judy Dworkin, library director,
said library officials are in the process of interviewing three design
firms, one of which will be chosen
in September to design the renovations and provide cost estimates for
the project
Each firm has submitted proposals to make maximum use of the
current library space without committing to an expansion for at least
three to five years.
"We will do the best we can with
what we have, but we were looking
down the road, knowing that as population expands and youth grows
— which is when we probably will
have to do some kind of major expansion," she explained.
Space for books, reference ma'er-
ials and computers are now at a premium. In addition, use of the library
is continuing to increase due to the
area's larger population and school
assignments.
Pending board of trustees approval, Dworkin srjd she doesn't
expect interior remodeling work to
begin until early 2000 or next
spring, it probably will involve rearrangement of the existing shelving
^.figuration and other changes,
Dworkin said.
Part of the changes also will include design of a sloping ramp or
wheelchair lift that will make the library's older Carnegie section accessible to the physically
challenged.
Built early this century, the Car
negie building is largely vacant except for a small section reserved for
newspapers and historical research
material on the second floor. The
first floor is occupied by administrative offices and a staff lounge.
Dworkin said she has wanted to
make better use of the building's
second floor for several years but
hasn't been unable to because it not
accessible to the physically
challenged.
The second floor is about six feet
lower than the upper floor of the
newer library building, which is
handicapped accessible. Nevertheless, the older building only can be
entered by the public via stairs from
the newer building.
"This is a major problem that we
need to solve and would give us
more usable space," she explained.
Among the changes under consideration is expansion of the historical
section for Lorain County and Amherst area history.
In late spring, library officials
cancelled plans for a new entrance
trom a patting lot locate behind the
facility. The addition would have
eliminated traffic congestion along
Spring Street and provided a new
book depository.
It was canceled because library
officials thought it was not feasible
because of the cost, given the need
for more room and a future expansion in the coming years.
If it is financially feasible,
Dworkin said a less expensive new
entrance may be built along with the
internal renovations. Otherwise, the
new entrance will have be delayed
until the major renovation.
High summer electric
usage will cause
monthly bill increase
Amherst residenu soon will get a
shocking surprise in the mail — re-"
cord high electric bills.
' On the average, electric bills will
pending on individual usage.
The high rates are tied to increased costs brought about by attempts to keep cool in last month's
hot, humid weather.
Usage reached s record 11 mil-
lipokik)waW.UMrT»«everujedby
Ainberst municipaJ electric custom-
i Can. The prexriow record was 10 mil-
lion Idlowatts set aboet two years
can Municipal Power of Ohio
(AMP-Ohio) plant ia Marietta during a period of peak me during the
July heat wave, scemding to iitilities
iiefwitemrlqst Don Woodams.
AMP-Ohio supplies electric
power to Amherst and other
munscipeJIy-owned power plants ia
the stats, such as Oberlin.
As a result, it had to p*a*rtem
electricity from ahort-isfn fetepea-
New Nord principal Michael Diamond has
been spending time meeting staff and stu
dents since his return to the school where he
was most recently a teacher.
New principal is a diamond
in the making at junior high
e
The
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Michael Diamond has had
an intte-estiag and busy life
tte lest few yean.
He's earned a master's de-
lies, gone to Russia, adopted
two children, moved three
.tees, sad left Nord Junior
High School as a teacher bet
year only te retara as principal ids year.
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Diamond said he did "a little
of everything," including a
stint at a set-unary in Pittsburgh, before realizing education was his forte.
After earning a master's
degree from Jote Canvi Uai-
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The pavilion win tie sumtta to
one built in a North Ridgeville park.
It will cost an estimated $300,000
and is within the park's construction
budget. It will overlook a small cliff
area above the Beaver Creek.
Martin said he hopes the foundation for the building can be laid
within ihe next two months so work
can continue through most of the
winter.
Plans call for the construction of
a parking lot around or near a cellular tower, soccer fields, a mile-long
walking and bicycle path around the
park, a children's playground and a
large nature area in which people
can stroll and enjoy nature.
In connection with a possible expansion and second phase, Martin
said the MetroParks also have purchased about 20 acres of land along
Beaver Creek extending from behind Harris Elementary School to .
Milan Avenue.
All the land lies on the west bank
of the creek and will be a nature
preserve area. Portions of it will be
CONTINUED on page 2
Few offer
city ideas
for using
post office
Plans to convert the former post
office on Park Avenue into a community or senior citizen center have
hit a snag — not enough people
have expressed interest in the idea.
But rather than abandoning the
concept, mayor John Higgins said
he wants to give interested parties
another opportunity to discuss the
idea at a future public meeting.
No date has been set, although it
may be held in September or early
October. In addition, die mayor said
he intends to discuss the idea with
city council sometime soon. Council
is on its August break but will return
Aug. 30. The mayor said he may
discuss the matter at that meeting or
soon afterward.
A public meeting was held in
early spring to discuss the idea with
interested groups. Despite the presentation of ideas, few people
turned out for the meeting.
"It was disappointing given the
things we could do with it for the
community," Higgins said. "There
were some ideas, but there seemed
to be a general lack of interest because few if any community groups
showed up. We'll give it another try
and see what happens."
Without support, the mayor said
the city may have to explore other
options, mainly rental of the building. Several parties already have expressed interest in renting the vacant
facility, although he declined to
identify them.
Whatever happens, the city will
not consider selling the building.
"It's far too valuable given it's
made out of sandstone and has become a downtown landmark," he
said. "I'm sure there are community
uses for it, but so far the kind of
support we'd like to see hasn't
appeared."
The city previously leased the
building to the Trinity Evangelical
Free Church, which renovated some
of the interior m part of a lease
agreement with die city. The building has been vacant since the church
moved out last spring. It purchaaed
and i-eoovtued the former A-aerican
Legion post oa Middle **Hm Road.
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