ELLSWORTH — After a back-and-forth discussion from the Ellsworth Village Board, members voted in favor of getting an appraisal for a potential Summit Park expansion.

With property for sale east of Summit Park, the village board was tasked with making a next step toward acquiring the land if they were interested. The board approved an Outdoor Recreation Plan back in January, allowing the village to apply for a grant that would fund 50% of the cost to acquire the property.

There were two avenues for grants the village could apply for. The first would be a stewardship grant from the Department of Natural Resources. Otherwise, the village could go for a federal grant opportunity.

“If we go with the stewardship grant from the DNR, that is passive recreation, so that would be walking trails, just open space, nothing more,” Village Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Brad Roy said. “If it were to become sports fields, playground equipment, then we need to go for the federal land and water conservation fund grant which is also administered by the DNR.”

To apply for either grant, the village needs to get an appraisal of the land which has an estimated cost of $2,500. There is a deadline to apply for the grant of May 1, so the board was determining whether they thought going for it this year or waiting a year and coming out with a Park Plan and an idea for the space when purchased next year would be the best option.

“At this point we don’t have a Park Plan. We have an Outdoor Rec Plan, but we don’t know what we really want to do with Summit Park, so I’m having a little bit of a struggle with just not knowing what would be there,” Village President Becky Beissel said.

Trustee Tony Hines sided with Beissel on the issue and ultimately voted against it.

Roy advised that the property has been available for some time, and there is no guarantee that it will be available a year from now if the opportunity is missed.

“This is a good opportunity to acquire that land,” Roy said.

“I wish we didn’t have to spend $2,500 to have the property assessed to be able to apply for this, but it would be a bummer if we passed on this and then the land sold,” Trustee Ryan Bench said. “I know that there’s been concern about acquiring more land. Residents didn’t want to see that right now, that’s why we’re even considering a grant, so that we can potentially get this for pretty cheap.”

Bench also cited impact fees that the village has to spend anyways, currently at about $73,000 with another $50,000 coming in the fall from Gerrard Corporation. Bench’s remarks seemingly swayed some board members, as a motion was made and approved.

Board members selected the federal grant that offers more versatility with what they can do with the land and approved the $2,500 appraisal cost through JC Norby.

Other business

• Approved the allowance for an Eagle Scout project for Trevor Doherty to put up a sign in Cairns Woods. Doherty said the current sign is about one foot by one foot and far enough into the site that people do not even really know what the site is. The proposal was for a larger sign closer to the road so more people will enjoy the area and to include a map of the trails. The board agreed to donate $500 to the project.
• Approved Madelin Cody for a village patrol officer position at the conclusion of a closed session.
• Approved beer and wine licenses for Serranos Mercadito and a retailer’s approval for the Showdown in Curdtown.
• Rezoned the Everest Homes development from agricultural to residential. The proposal was modified to 21 units off of Alexander Avenue near Gianna Court from an original plan of 26 units.
• Approved a $1.5 million sewer bond sale for the street project at Grant, Piety, Strickland and Woodworth this summer. The total project cost is now estimated to come in around $5 million where it was previously estimated for $5.5 million.
• Selected MSA as the village engineer. The board conducted interviews with four candidates at a special board meeting a week prior, with board members mentioning they felt comfortable with all the finalists.