Todd Field Amphitheater, Chagrin River Trail projects getting public input in Willoughby

Jun. 20—A recent public engagement meeting took place to discuss the design of the Todd Field Amphitheater and Chagrin River Trail projects.

About 50 people attended the meeting under a tent along the banks of the Chagrin River at Todd Field, located at 38264 Glenn Ave. During the meeting, Tom Thielman, Willoughby's economic development director, provided the attendees with an outline of the project and how it's arrived at this point, pointing out the history of the idea of having a river trail system and Willoughby Mayor Robert Fiala's goal of constructing an outdoor amphitheater for the performing arts.

"This project is transformative and will be an important part of Willoughby's art and culture climate going forward," Thielman said. "We currently don't have, in the surrounding area, a really top-notch outdoor performing arts center that can be used by all the great art institutions throughout our community. It will be nice to host a small jazz festival, the Lakeland Civic Band for a concert or see dance performances that the Fine Arts (Association) creates each year. It's also important to design a facility that's flexible and can be a venue for artist gatherings or fairs, speaking engagements and small theatrical productions."

Roy Smith, board president for the Willoughby Fine Arts Association, spoke briefly about the collaboration they have made with the city to help program the future amphitheater and what the arts and culture bring to the community. In addition, Larry Goodman, head of school at Andrews Osborne Academy, provided background on their involvement in the project and how a river trail and performing arts center compliment their goals as an academic and community-involved institution. AOA is currently working to expand opportunities for summer programs in the performing arts and sciences, Thielman said.

Also at the meeting was Tom Rogers, from The Smith Group, the consultant hired by Willoughby to reimagine the functionality of Todd Field. Rogers engaged attendees in an interactive workshop to examine aspects of the amphitheater such as its location within the park, types of amenities and character of its design. Various examples of similar-sized amphitheaters were shown, allowing the public to vote on what they thought was the most visually appealing.

"Visual referencing is a tool used to assess a community's preferences regarding style," Thielman noted. "Would a more modern facility be preferred over traditional one or a more timber-dominant design be more appealing? Also, components that would be connected with a park trail were examined and how downtown Willoughby should fit into the trail system. Should the trail be loose gravel or fully paved? Is access to the water important or are kayak or fishing areas important to residents? These are the types of questions that were asked."

After the data was collected from the public engagement meeting, a debriefing session took place with key City Hall staff to discuss possible design considerations that were derived from the meeting. In addition, a second public engagement effort will be made in the form of an online survey, which will be developed from the same questions asked at the in-person meeting, and will go live in the next coming weeks.

"This way, the city and its consultant can verify some of the things they learned and it will give everyone who wants a chance to participate in this important design process," Thielman said.

After the results of the public engagement surveys are complete, a preliminary report will be created to show design ideas that will all incorporate unique qualities, Thielman said. From those, it is most likely that the city will choose three possible designs for further development and fine-tuning.

"There is a lot to consider when choosing, from where the floodway is located and how it will affect any structures, to the current location of the utilities, the site's topography, current or future baseball diamond positing, parking, access points for traffic, how the amenities link and bring better connectivity to downtown Willoughby, to just the overall aesthetics," Thielman said.

These projects could not happen without the direct support of the Willoughby City Council and their contribution of capital dollars to the process, and the successful securing of capital grants from Ohio, Thielman said.

"We thank Council and our local state legislators for their past, current and future support of this ambitious, and complex project," Thielman said. "I have to give much credit to the expertise of the Western Reserve Land Conservancy and the Chagrin River Watershed partnership for guiding us, and helping Willoughby with much of the heavy lifting and providing us a clear vision for the future that is both environmentally sound. It will provide new recreation and arts amenities to our citizens."