Madison Township will attempt to secure some extra money for an erosion control project at one of the community’s parks.
Trustees authorized Administrator Tim Brown to submit a funding application to the Lake Development Authority. In that application, the township will seek $50,000 in Lake County bed tax revenue to put toward the construction of an armor stone revetment at Stanton Park, which is located at 5585 Chapel Road.
Brown, at the Oct. 24 trustees meeting, said he already had contacted Lake Development Authority Executive Director Patrick Mohoric about obtaining $50,000 in bed tax funds for the project.
“(Mohorcic) said he would probably recommend to Lake County commissioners to fund us for $50,000, if I submit the application,” Brown said.
Trustees then unanimously approved a motion, allowing Brown to apply for the bed tax funds.
Madison would add that money to $1.02 million in federal funding that it already has been granted for building the armor stone revement.
U.S. Rep. David Joyce, R-Bainbridge Township, helped to ensure that fiscal year 2024 federal funding was earmarked for the endeavor.
Madison Township plans to build a nearly 1,100-foot-long armor stone revetment to stabilize a bluff at Stanton Park that overlooks Lake Erie.
A revetment is a protective covering built along a coastal cliff, bank or bluff to absorb and dissipate the energy of Lake Erie waves to reduce erosion. Armor stone, which comes from quarries, is often used as a component in revetments.
The bluff, which is situated on the northern side of Stanton Park, has been decimated by erosion in recent years.
In 2021, the Lake Development Authority managed a project at Stanton Park during which a contractor graded the bluff and slowed the rate of erosion. A year later, an emergency repair was conducted on a 130-foot section of the bluff that failed.
In March 2023, because of high water levels and continued loss of Stanton Park land to Lake Erie, Madison Township trustees authorized an application, through Joyce’s office, to seek federal funding for the immediate stabilization of the site’s bluff.
Trustees learned in March 2024 that Madison Township would be granted $1.02 million for the revetment construction project. The money was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which was passed by the U.S. House and Senate.
At an Aug. 13 meeting, trustees authorized Brown to enter into all agreements that are required for the U.S. government to release the funding to Madison Township.
It was during a workshop held immediately prior to the Aug. 13 meeting when Brown said he had talked with Lake County Administrator Jason Boyd about the possibility of obtaining bed tax dollars to serve as additional funding for the armor stone revetment.
Brown said that about 1 1/2 years had passed since he submitted the application to seek federal funding for the project.
The township administrator noted that the armor stone revetment might very well have a higher price tag now, versus 18 months ago, because of inflation.
“I just wanted to make sure we have an avenue for some extra funds if we need it,” he said, regarding the plan to request county bed tax revenue totaling $50,000.
Bed taxes are added to the total that a person pays when they stay at a hotel, motel or bed-and-breakfast location in Lake County.
