“It’s a big deal,” said Gregory Amend, who has been a park commissioner for close to 20 years. “This is a high priority project.”
Amend, who is also a former Liberty Twp. trustee, said the expansion of Rentschler Forest MetroPark is part of an overall plan to have a large park in each quadrant of Butler County that serves large population centers with similar amenities.
Once completed, Amend said he expects the expanded Rentschler Forest MetroPark to attract more visitors than Voice Of America MetroPark in West Chester Twp.
“I know a lot of people in Liberty Twp. who don’t realize that Rentschler is there,” he said. The park is located about four miles northeast of Hamilton at Ohio 4 and Rentschler Estates Drive across from Butler Tech’s D. Russel Lee Career Center.
In addition to the various athletic fields, the Great Miami Recreation River Trail is also near the park.
“We’re really excited about it,” Amend said. “We think this is a tremendous asset to the county that’s also centrally located.”
Phase I of the $569,000 project will include four practice fields for community use, a pond and a parking area, said Kelly Barkley, MetroParks senior manager of community outreach.
The project was made possible from planned funding within MetroParks’ general fund that was saved over a period of years, according to Barkley.
In March, Butler County voters passed a six-year levy for MetroParks that included an 0.5-mill renewal and 0.2-mill increase.
The levy revenues, MetroParks officials have said, will go toward operating costs as well as to make future improvements within the park system’s 4,500 acres of land across the county.
The new levies will go into effect in 2017 and will cost a property owners an additional $9.19 a year for a total of $24.50 from the current amount being paid, according to the Butler County Auditor’s Office per $100,000 of valuation. The new levy will generate about $5.16 million a year for the park district, up from the current $3.4 million.
The Butler County Visitors Bureau estimated that the events at MetroParks facilities provide a direct economic impact of nearly $4 million and about $13 million in overall economic impact to the county.
The land for the Line Hill Mound Activity Area was acquired by MetroParks through a bequest from the late James R. Line in October 2000. Before Phase I construction started, the main features at the property were a single trail, a small parking area and a large white barn.
While the barn is not open to the public, it may be renovated at a future date, Barkley said.
The practice fields at Line Hill represent the relocation of fields currently found at the Reigart Road area of Rentschler Forest. The Reigart Road concept plan includes the future addition of a lake where the fields currently exist.
Phase I construction should be completed in August, according to Barkley.
“However, the practice fields will not be opened until the seeded fields are established and are ready for foot traffic,” she said, adding that the targeted opening date for the athletic fields would be in 2018.
As funding permits, Barkley said future amenities on the concept plan include a disc golf course, dog park, playground, splash play features and a pond expansion that could accommodate fishing, kayaks and paddleboats.
Additional walking trails, greenspaces to enjoy nature, picnic shelters, an amphitheater and a Welcome Center that includes space for public use are also a part of the concept plan for the area, she said.
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