LIME CITY — Perrysburg Township is aiming for an archery trail at Edward H. Simmons Park, but the canine
crowd will also love the dog park.
The township maintenance department began cutting trails through the wooded area before snow fell.
The trustees talked about the simulated deer stands during the Feb. 17 meeting. There are three planned,
which will be spread out through the series of target areas. The total number of targets has yet to be
determined. Right now, they are planning for a low, a medium and a high stand. The lowest is expected to
be handicap accessible.
Trustee Joe Schaller went to the Wolf Creek Sportsman’s Association to look at the archery trail on their
property and took photos of their platforms. He suggested sticking with a similar design, which has a
platform 16 feet by 8 feet, with the tallest one at 12 feet high.
“My opinion is that we should have a structural engineer draw it up and put a stamp on it, just in case
something happens,” Schaller said. “One of the challenges of those platforms is that the handrail around
the top, on three sides, is about four feet high. The front rail, shooting toward the targets, is about
three feet high, because of the cams and mechanisms on these bows, so that doesn’t catch the handrail.”
He also spoke with the Archery Trade Association. It was their recommendation that the platforms be
engineered, for liability insurance purposes. Trustees unanimously agreed
Discussions also included parking lot and retention pond construction, which trustees concluded would
probably be necessary before the archery trail could be used.
Also discussed were various engineering firms for plan designs and companies that specialize in building
ponds.
The park will be on 12 acres of land, already owned by the township, on Simmons Road, south of Bass Pro
Shops.
The engineered site plan for the park has been approved by the zoning commission. Part of the site plan
illustrates a dog park. There is currently no schedule for construction of the dog park.
“It will probably be one of the last features constructed, but the township is currently committed to
having a dog park,” Administrator Walt Celley said.
Because of the planned location in the park Celley said that there will need to be soil preparation and
some may need to be brought in, which may require the ground to settle for as much as a year. At past
meetings the trustees spoke of drainage issues.
He also said that the necessary fencing may be outside the current year’s budget. When the property was
donated to the city, it came with $50,000 to be used for improvements.
Also at the meeting, the trustees:
• Heard Trustee Gary Britten suggested that face-to-face in-person meetings resume on March 3. The issue
was tabled because of a lack of clear recommendations from the state.
Trustee Bob Mack said that the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments is suggesting that virtual
meetings be made available indefinitely.
• Approved the fire department participating in a Ropes II training course, which is free, but will come
with $1,000 in expenses for travel, room and board.
• Approved a new health reimbursement arrangement, taking the place of the current HSA. Potential cost
savings combined with the HSA being not available to those enrolled in Medicare were cited as reasons
for the change.
