The North Royalton Parks and Recreation Department is in the process of moving into a new facility, purchased this year by the city. They will be moving into the previously-owned Cuyahoga County property, which sits adjacent to the York Road ball fields, which will not only give them more room, but will also serve as equipment storage. “We’ll start moving in a little at a time,” said Mayor Bob Stefanik.
The York Road property previously belonged to the Cuyahoga County Engineer’s Office. The road and bridge maintenance facility property, located at 4875 York Road and is zoned (PF) Public Facility. It is one of four properties, including two garages in Cleveland and an engineering building in Valley View, that the county sold. The property totals 10.14 acres, which includes an approximate 12,500 square foot building. The City of North Royalton currently leases a five-acre portion of that property, which abuts York Road recreational complex of baseball fields and currently houses the city’s Recreation Department. In September of 2008, the city entered into an agreement with Cuyahoga County for a 25-year lease with a 25-year option for property adjacent to the York Road complex. At that time, one new baseball field was added with added parking, and another baseball field was added the following year.
The County planned to consolidate its maintenance in one building in another location, so they had requested that those interested in purchasing the property submit a Request for Proposal by March. The city submitted their request for this property and on May 24, Mayor Bob Stefanik announced that the County had accepted the city’s bid of $250,000 for the property.
Stefanik said that the city sold its compost facility to the North Royalton School District to be used as the district’s new bus garage. He noted that the city was storing equipment there, so they will move some of the equipment into the new facility. Also, the city’s Recreation Department didn’t really have an office and restroom facilities, so they will probably be moving the Recreation Department there, where they will have more space for the machines, a cafeteria area and office space. “We’re not gaining a building, we’re breaking even,” said Stefanik.
Community Development Director Tom Jordan noted that “the city has a variety of needs for storage of equipment and emergency equipment, and the Rec Department has some specific needs. The Rec Department has a building at York Road, with storage at the cemetery, Heasley Fields and Memorial Park. This might centralize some of that.” He also noted that the city is under mandate from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to store equipment indoors. Anything with hydraulic fluid needs to be stored inside.
It is not known at this time what will be done with the undeveloped portion of the property. “That’s something for the next administration to look at,” said Stefanik. “I’m really not sure at this point. We’ll sit down and talk more about that come January. It might just end up being more parking, as we often struggle with that. It’s more a generic conversation at this point. We’ll see what the best use might be.”
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer