Far Afield in Fostoria or The Tale of a Few Lagoons
January 11, 1998, article two

"Are you busy, Leonard?" It was Fostoria Mayor Jim Bailey on the phone a couple weeks ago.

Who? Me? Busy? Well, in general, I'm suspicious of being busy, but occasionally there's no getting around it. Besides, it sure beats the daylights out of being bored.

Anyhow, I asked the mayor what was up. He said the City made some civic improvements residents might want to be aware of and would like to take a tour that afternoon? Sounded like a great idea - a little ride around town on a sunny day.

Our first stop was the field across from National Electrical Carbon at Town and Short Streets. It's just north of the tracks by Pelton's.

An empty lot for quite awhile, this land has begun a transformation. In fact, we ran into Bob Wagner from the City Street Department attacking the area with a bulldozer.

By next spring, this little tract will be the site of Don Elchert Field, a neighborhood ballfield. Mr. Elchert was well-known as a long-time member of Fostoria City Council, but he also served many years on the city's recreation committee. The Parks and Recreation Committee decided the field will be dedicated in his memory, a permanent reminder of Mr. Elchert's many contributions to our community.

Bob was clearing the ground where the infield will be. Most infields intended for league play whether for softball or baseball are of the "skin" variety. They use hard-packed gravel which has the advantage of excellent drainage, but it's a hard, unforgiving surface.

Mayor Bailey said the city sought the advice of Hancock County Park District Director Tim Bruggeman who suggested mixing sand with the gravel. The field won't drain quite so well, but anyone taking a spill won't get too badly banged up.

The main expense for this project is for the fence which is being installed by Fremont Fence and is being paid for out of Community Development Block Grant monies. Work on the backstop will begin soon.

The land is owned by the Carbon and is being leased to the City for $1 a year. Mr. Bailey said he hoped that the field will see use as a facility for little league, softball leagues or as a good old neighborhood ballyard.

It's hard to say if this will result in a home field adventure (opps, that's advantage) for anyone or not, but the diamond was laid out by the mayor, city administrator Charlie Dodge and street department supervisor Eric Keckler. The mayor said they used an old home plate belonging to him and eyeballed it up. The foul lines were only off by six inches.

Our next stop entailed a walk in Portage Park, which is always a nice place to stop by. Portage Park, the mayor pointed out, is the perfect winter park with hills for sledding and plenty of space for cross country skiing.

One of the improvements taking shape at the park is the relocation of the main shelter house down the hill to a spot near the parking lot and the east bridge. In addition, a grant from the Wood County Park District has resulted in a new roof for the shelter house.

The east bridge has a brand new deck and the small shelter house on the south hill has a new roof. So all in all, Portage Park is getting a facelift that will make it an even more attractive place to visit and enjoy.

Now sledge isn't something that most of us spend any serious amount of time pondering. Our municipality, on the other hand, thinks about it a lot. Sludge is the end product of wastewater treatment.

The City now sells the sludge for agricultural application. There are lagoons that were used for storing sludge between Portage Park and the back of the wastewater treatment plant. These are a headache for two reasons. One is that they pose a hazard for kids who might stray into them. Secondly, they pose a potential environmental contaminant.

The good news is that the day Mr. Bailey and I visited the park, a pair of bulldozers were leveling the area and filling in the sludge lagoons. With the approval of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and proper monitoring, Fostoria will be able to restore this area to a natural state.

According to Mr. Bailey, the City's vision for this area is to plant trees and wildflowers. The possibility exists that it might even be a spot that can be utilized by science classes at nearby Fostoria High School.

"Turning something that was a hazard into an educational opportunity," said the mayor, "would be a long step forward."

Such a step would be right in keeping with the Beautification and Tree Commission's plans for Fostoria which include the planting of over 1,000 trees by the year 2002.

Speaking of the wastewater treatment plant, residents might also be interested to know that the effluent leaving the plant is cleaner than the water already flowing down the creek.

So, I'd like to thank Mayor Bailey for the tour. We're never too busy to stay informed about projects the City of Fostoria is undertaking.