500-acre Pike Township property to become newest Stark park

A plan to convert a nearly 500-acre property in Pike Township that was once home to Canton’s wastewater plant into a county park has cleared its final legislative hurdle.

The three-member Canton Parks and Recreation Commission this week approved designating the land along Cleveland Avenue SE (state Route 800) as parkland. The property sits just south of Pike Township Hall at 7134 E. Sparta Ave.

The joint plan between the city of Canton and the Stark County Park District already has received approval from the Stark Parks governing board, Canton City Council and Pike Township trustees, who approved a conditional use zoning permit that allows a park on property zoned for residential use.

Here’s what to know about the project and what happens next:

Canton sewage disposal operations began in Pike Township in 1916

The property, which has been owned by Canton for at least 98 years, held Canton’s wastewater treatment plant from 1916 until Canton built its Water Reclamation Facility at 3530 Central Ave. SE in Canton in 1952.

The larger area of the property to the east of Cleveland Avenue contained what was known as the sludge farm, where the heavy materials would be sent to sit in lagoons. Its operations ended in the 1970s after the state determined sludge runoff was polluting the area and Canton built a sludge incinerator at the Central Avenue plant.

The city cleared the land in the 1990s and then allowed a mining contractor to strip out the coal and limestone. Oil and gas wells also have been drilled on the property, some of which still are producing.

Roughly 40 acres of the land, mostly along the roadway, are used for farming.

A Stark Parks-funded environmental study found no significant safety concerns to prevent the park district from operating it as a public park.

Equestrian trails and boat launch are planned

The new park will be geared toward horse riding.

A concept plan by the Environmental Design Group shows 13 miles of equestrian and hiking trails looping throughout the hills and valleys of the property, primarily on the east side of Cleveland Avenue. To the west of Cleveland Avenue, an archery range and tower, a boat launch along the Nimishillen Creek, a shelter, restrooms and a parking area are planned.

See the map and park plan: Concept plan for park in Pike Township

The concept plan shows the farming areas remaining intact, but Canton officials said the farmer who has been using the land notified the city that he plans to downsize his operations and does not wish to extend his lease after this year.

What’s next?

Officials from Canton and Stark Parks are expected formally to sign within the next few weeks a no-cost, 25-year development and use agreement, where the city would retain ownership of the property and the park district would install the park amenities and maintain it.

Stark Parks Executive Director Dan Moeglin, who has been leading the effort, said park employees will then begin erecting fencing around the oil and gas wells, working with the state to remove the wells that are not producing, creating and improving the driveways, and working with the local equestrian groups to set the trails.

He hopes to open the park to the public by mid-summer.

Reach Repository writer Kelli Weir at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pike Township land to be county park under Stark Parks, Canton plan