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Metroparks official briefs Waterville council on decade of growth, new projects
Summary
Metroparks Chief External Relations Officer Matt Killam updated the Waterville City Council on the regional parks system’s expansion, visitor trends and planned projects including trail and facility improvements at Farnsworth and Providence Dam Shelter; the presentation was informational and no council action was taken.
Matt Killam, chief external relations officer for the Metroparks, told the Waterville City Council on April 28 that the park system has expanded acreage, trail mileage and visitor services over the last decade and highlighted several local projects the agency is planning.
Killam said Metroparks now stewards about 13,000 acres and roughly 231 miles of connected trails across its service area and has added about 1,000 acres and 50 miles of trails since 2016. He said the system has secured roughly $100 million in state and federal grants and added 10 new metro parks during that period. "We steward about 13,000 total acres. We have 231, miles of connected trails," Killam said.
The presentation noted 21 million visits to the park system since February 2017 and a 62% increase in visits from Lucas County residents; Killam said the Metroparks uses anonymized cell-phone data to estimate visitation. "You might be asking yourselves how we get that information, is through cell phone data," he said.
Why it matters: Killam framed Metroparks’ work as both conservation and public access, saying the agency must protect remaining natural areas while connecting people to them. He described the system’s operational standards (for example, restroom maintenance checks) and said investments range from trail and kayak-launch replacements to restoration of wetlands and larger projects such as Howard Marsh.
The Metroparks update included local work either planned or under way: improvements at Farnsworth (new kayak launch and fishing docks), an all-purpose trail and kayak/fishing access work at Pearson, and shelter improvements at Providence Dam Shelter, a Works Progress Administration–era facility. Killam also noted community-facing programs including summer camps, mountain-bike facilities at Treehouse Village and tree-planting goals the agency expects to pursue countywide.
Council reaction and next steps: Council members thanked Killam and said they welcome future conversations about partnerships between the City of Waterville and Metroparks. Vice Mayor Mary Duncan and Council member John Rosick both praised local park amenities and said they look forward to exploring collaboration opportunities. Killam indicated he is available for follow-up questions and community meetings; no votes or formal council actions resulted from the presentation.
Additional details: Killam said Metroparks runs four patrol districts and employs certified peace officers, and he described a recently added ranger dog that the agency uses for visitor engagement. He also highlighted that the downtown riverfront park and the Treehouse Village mountain-bike course have drawn substantial visitation, and that the agency applied for and received the National Recreation and Park Association Gold Medal Award in recent years.
Ending: Council members said they appreciated the update and anticipated continuing discussions about ways Waterville and Metroparks can coordinate on recreation and conservation initiatives.
