Service, parks plan for expansion, improvements 

by Laura Bednar

Feb. 24 township trustees meeting

Bath Service Director and Interim Parks Director Caine Collins presented each department’s annual report for 2024.

The service department responded to 238 resident service requests last year and used over 633 tons of asphalt for spot road repair and apron repair. The department also completed 3,437 linear feet of roadside ditching. The township has used 1,700 tons of road salt over the winter, more than twice as much as the 829 tons used the previous winter.

Last year, three heat pumps were installed at Bath Center and a new restroom was added to the lower level of the building. Fire Station No. 2 received a new roof, and the service department bought a new excavator. 

Collins said the service department’s goals this year are to finish the service building expansion, continue replacing more heat pumps in the Bath Center and fill the vacant assistant service director position.

In 2024, the parks department installed a swing set at Bath Hills Park and raised a section of the pond path at Bath Nature Preserve to accommodate beavers and flooding. The department also replaced a footbridge in the preserve with a land bridge.

The department’s 2025 goals are to install a new shelter at Bath Hills Park, complete the master plan for Bath Community Park, fill the position of parks administrator and create a service access drive from Cleveland-Massillon Road to the triple-loop trail at the North Fork Preserve. The parks department also plans to bid out contracts to renovate the house and barn at the preserve.

The service department has put down stones along the triple-loop trail, but Collins said the goal is to make it smoother with smaller stones. 

“This is a really good start to improving the trails and pathways in our parks,” said Trustee Sean Gaffney. 

Cemetery buyback

Trustees approved legislation allowing the township to buy back unused cemetery plots from people who no longer live in Bath or are no longer in need of a plot. The option does not apply to Bath Center, Stony Hill or East Bath cemeteries, as they are primarily historic family cemeteries. Township Administrator/Police Chief Vito Sinopoli said it’s difficult to get information about the plots because the geographic information systems can’t accurately define plot boundaries.

Gaffney noted that 87 gravesites were sold last year, according to Collins’ report, and the township should address the issue of limited remaining cemetery space.

Discover Bath Barns

James McClellan, president of the Discover Bath Barns committee, updated trustees on the committee’s work the past year. The committee consists of 27 volunteers and received funding through donations and an AM250 grant, given through the state in honor of America’s semiquincentennial.

Trustees approved a $400 donation to the barns committee from Dr. Robert Kroeger through the Summit County Historical Society.

Last year, the committee created the Heritage Barns of Bath Trail, held a quilt square competition and sponsored a four-event speaker series with over 160 attendees. The committee was awarded an Architectural Heritage Award from Summit County Historical Society and the Greater Akron Progress Through Preservation. Bath residents Tim Franklin and Michael Ackermann also won awards for their barn preservation projects in Akron and on a carriage barn on Cleveland-Massillon Road.

The committee is developing a guiding principles document and has crafted goals, objectives and set a $9,800 budget for 2025. Discover Bath Barns’ purpose is to “preserve, enhance, educate and inform,” according to McClellan.

This year, the committee will hold two barn quilt workshops, on May 7 and 24; hold its second speaker series June 10, July 8 and Sept. 9; and recognize National Barn Day on July 13. An informational sign about the Heritage Barns of Bath Trail will be installed at the Wayside Exhibit on Cleveland-Massillon Road. The committee partnered with Revere Local Schools for elementary students to interview barn owners and will hold a barn-themed scavenger hunt for middle-schoolers.Residents interested in volunteering for the committee can email discoverbathbarns@gmail.com or call 330-666-4007 for more information.