Funds sought for Mosquito Lake resort plans

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A grant would look at soil contamination at a Hubbard site.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

WARREN — Trumbull 100 is seeking $20,000 from the county commissioners to continue planning for a proposed $35 million lodge and water park at Mosquito Lake.

Atty. William Letson of Trumbull 100, a community group that works to help revitalize Trumbull County, told the commissioners Tuesday it needs $50,000 in total for the second phase of the effort.

After the commissioners' work session Tuesday, Commissioner Paul Heltzel said the board will contribute to the effort, but he doesn't know how much.

Heltzel said he was glad to hear the county won't be financially responsible for borrowing any money for the project.

So far, Cortland and the Trumbull County Building Trades Council have contributed $5,000 each to develop the proposal.

Letson added that he is seeking county participation to show it is backing the project. "We think that's important," Letson said.

The $50,000 is needed to pay Gateway Consultants Group Inc. of Cleveland to hire legal counsel and an architect, put together a finance model and seek proposals from water park developers and lodge management companies.

Study: Lodge needs a park

Gateway has been paid $85,000 to determine if a lodge was a viable project. It found that a water park was needed to support the lodge.

A nonprofit group would be formed to borrow money to build the lodge, explained Letson and Thomas V. Chema, Gateway president.

The lodge will cost about $17 million, and the water park will cost about $18 million. The park would be constructed by a developer that in turn would pay rent to the lodge.

The land around the reservoir is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers and is leased to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Chema explained the corps must give its approval for any project because it has building restrictions on the land.

He said the lodge would be owned by the nonprofit group for 25 years and then turned over the state to operate.

Letson said the proposal is "no pie in the sky" as other projects the commissioners have asked to become involved.

Letson pointed to the economic benefits of a lodge and conference center at Geneva State Park in Ashtabula County.

That county's bed tax revenue was $280,000 in 1995 and increased to $791,000 in 2005 after the facility had been in operation for two years.

Although a site has not been confirmed, Cortland Mayor Curt Moll said an area on the eastern shore in Cortland is being strongly considered.

Testing for contamination

In another matter heard by commissioners, they are being asked to apply for an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency grant to determine if any soil at the former Valley Vulcan Mould facility in Hubbard is contaminated.

Allan Knapp, director of the county planning commission, explained that the unspecified amount of grant money would be used by the Ohio EPA to determine if any of the land is contaminated.

If there is contamination, Knapp said, any company that wants to buy it would be responsible for the cleanup. Valley Vulcan is bankrupt.

Also, the commissioners were told the unusually dry weather will cost the county an additional $25,200 for a study by URS Corp. of Akron to determine the amount of stormwater getting into the county sanitary sewer system.

Gary Newbrough, county sanitary engineer, had earlier told commissioners $31,700 would be added to the $191,406 contract because of the lack of significant rainfall. He has negotiated it down to $25,200.

Last week's rainfall wasn't significant enough to complete the monitoring, Newbrough said.

yovich@vindy.com

Wednesday, August 1, 2007