Agreement near for new Celina park layout

CELINA - City officials are close to finalizing an agreement with the Bryson Trust Fund overseers for the future layout of a new park area along Lake Shore Drive.

Future park development must meet the original intent of the Bryson Trust, which was to benefit Celina children, mayor Jeff Hazel said.

At a parks and recreation committee meeting on Monday night, administrators updated council members about discussions with the fund's overseers.

City officials in 2014, on behalf of the Bryson Trust Fund, borrowed $2.64 million from Mercer County to help buy the former Versa Pak building and the Mercelina Mobile Court. The total price was $2.2 million for the Mercelina land and $745,000 for the Versa Pak property. The city will convert the 8 acres into the Bryson Park District.

Hazel said the city has been negotiating for almost a year with the trustees about how the fund will repay the city and how the new parks will look. An agreement should be finalized within 60 days, he said.

"So it looks very, very good from where we're at," he said.

The trustees, he said, likely will make a $1.32 million downpayment on the debt and pay the rest within five years.

"I think we're finally coming down to the end where we're just about all in agreement," Hazel said. "The Bryson Trust is also backed with a will from Ed Bryson that was very specific about what things could and could not be done with the money."

Once a prominent city attorney, Bryson's initial endowment of $232,521, managed by what is now First Financial Bank in Celina, has financed millions of dollars in park projects and grown to nearly $10 million. It was "for the use and benefit of the public play grounds in Mercelina Park, Celina, Ohio, or to assist in the construction of a public swimming pool by said city." Through court approval, the charity's intent has expanded to include all city recreational uses.

Officials have agreed to call the development the Bryson Park District. However, they're still hammering out the details about how to develop the park.

"But it's not like we can go build anything we want there," Hazel said. "They have to approve the layout of everything that's got to be there upfront. That is their requirement for using the nearly $2.6 million that they're putting toward this."

The trustees demand a deed-restricted area outlining the park's use and preventing commercialization, Hazel said. A majority of Bryson's will, Hazel noted, called for park improvements for the benefit of children, not adults.

The trailer pads have all been removed from the former trailer park but the streets and some pavement remain. The city is in no hurry to remove the concrete until it has a final plan, Hazel said.

"I don't know if we've actually calculated how much soil we would need in there to (plant) grass once we removed the streets," Hazel said. "It would be pretty substantial."

"We know we have some things lined up. They've approved of those," Hazel said of the trust fund overseers. "There's a couple other elements - an amphitheater was a real struggle for them," Hazel said.

Last year, members of a newly formed Celina Park Advisory Board, proposed many ideas for the park district, with an amphitheater topping the list followed by recreation equipment for handicapped children and toddlers, a splash pad, a flower/herb garden and picnic area, a fountain, more docks, more shelter houses, a marina where people could stay overnight in their boats, paddleboats, more pull-up spots along the lake for fisherman and picnickers and restroom facilities with showers.

Councilman Mike Sovinski asked if the Bryson Trust Fund overseers had ever before imposed written restrictions on "what we can and cannot do with the money."

"Not in all the time I've dealt with them," Hazel said, adding overseers at recent meetings have been very specific about the will's intent.

Sovinski said the trustee board had always been made up of local citizens. He asked if that is still the case.

The trust fund is overseen by trustees Carolyn Pancake and probate court judge Mary Pat Zitter, who review and ultimately approve or deny requests, Hazel said. A trust advisory board within the bank also was set up, but Hazel said he doesn't know who is on that board - and the city has no say in who is on it.

"We are merely the recipients. We don't control it," Hazel said.

Later in the meeting, council president Jason King asked about the city creating its own funding source.

"But it seems like we always rely on the Bryson Trust to fund a lot of capital improvements in the park," King said. "I know we're not a wealthy city by any stretch of the imagination."

King suggested setting aside $10,000-$50,000 each year to build a park capital account.

"I don't disagree at all," Hazel said. "I think it's a great idea."

Funding the Montgomery Field account has been a top park priority because the synthetic field at Eastview Park must be replaced soon, Hazel said.

Earlier this month, council approved transferring $50,000 to the account from the kilowatt hour tax revenue within the general fund. Upon appropriation, the field account balance will increase to $100,000.  

Bill Montgomery, his family and business together donated $250,000 to install the synthetic field at Eastview Park in 2007. The city has been repairing the surface but the turf eventually must be replaced.

Field replacement, Hazel said, was initially estimated to cost $100,000 but has spiked significantly, substantially more than $250,000 as was quoted a few years ago.