SOUTH POINT – While the village waits to receive word on an Issue I Ohio Natureworks Grant for planned improvements to Village Park, South Point’s village administration is looking to keep the project going after recent electoral changes.

Thursday, November 18, 1999

SOUTH POINT – While the village waits to receive word on an Issue I Ohio Natureworks Grant for planned improvements to Village Park, South Point’s village administration is looking to keep the project going after recent electoral changes.

Councilman David Hamm, the park improvement project coordinator, will not return to council in January, having lost his seat in the general election to councilwoman-elect Marlene Arthur. This will leave the project without a chairman when the new council is called to order.

"David was really involved, and we worked on some good ideas that we want to see carried out," Mayor Bill Gaskin said. "There is no question that David put a large amount of work into this, and if we get the grant monies and so forth, then we are going to continue with the plans that have been made. If he wants to continue to be involved, that is good news."

Regardless of changes to council’s structure, Hamm said he will petition the new council in an effort to remain involved with the project –  and possibly to continue as coordinator.

"This is a project I worked very hard on while serving on council and I intend to see it through," Hamm said. "This is something that is important for the village whether I am on council or not."

To date, the project is in a waiting stage, Hamm added. The village has applied for the grant for the estimated $27,000 project, which will include new exercise equipment and playground equipment that meet updated safety standards.

"The grant board has received the grant request and is reviewing it," he said. "We basically must now wait for approval from them. Most people are traditionally notified in June."

But, even with a $27,000 grant request, all labor must be volunteer, Hamm added.

"There is absolutely no money allowed in the grant for labor," he said. "All of the work will have to be done on a volunteer basis."

Plans for meetings about the volunteer labor  - and other jobs on a seemingly endless list –  are in the works, Hamm said.

"There is a lot of work to be done," he said. "We plan to have meetings, but at this time, no dates are scheduled."

Gaskin said he hopes to see more people become involved in the project because it will benefit everyone in the village and surrounding areas.

"We need volunteers. If there’s anything wrong with South Point, it’s that it is difficult to get anyone to volunteer for anything," Gaskin said. "There’s one group that volunteers for everything, and if we could find new volunteers, that would be a big help to me and to the whole village."