Several county and private organizations have plans for land near the intersection of Interstate 80 and U.S. Highway 40.
Basin Recreation, which owns about 100 acres between that interchange and the Silver Creek Village neighborhood, is the latest to consider what to do with it.
District Director Dana Jones said it could be an opportunity to respond to overwhelming demand.
“With the number of residents that are growing, with the number of our current programs that are booked and have waiting lists, we know that the community wants more recreation,” she said.
She helped present some options to the Summit County Council last week, as part of an update on Basin Rec’s Strategic Action Plan, which encompasses wider planning efforts than just this one project.
One option was low-impact, incorporating habitat restoration areas and native vegetation to support plants and animals there. Basin Rec called the other option high-impact, which traded the habitat space for more sports fields.
Both plans incorporate a new rec center building, parking, a transit stop and trails connecting to the wider Summit County trail network.
There is the challenge that all other county entities planning construction in the area have run into. The area has slopes that need to be leveled, and hidden bedrock has made that more difficult.
“And so to have to put very big flat things on a slope can be quite expensive,” Jones said. “And do we really want to do that?”
Jones said the options and early planning will help Basin Rec determine what gives taxpayers the best bang for their buck. After public input, she said, Basin Rec could bond for the money in 2024.
“So once we figure out what we want to do and what the community wants and what the community wants to pay for, then we'll be looking at possibly bonding at the end of next year," she said.
Basin Rec hopes to finalize its Strategic Action Plan in Fall 2023. According to its timeline available online, it’s currently in the drafting phase. After that, it will go to community review, which will incorporate feedback from the public.
That means none of this will get built very soon. Except for High Valley Transit, no one has broken ground on new construction in the area.
