Chillicothe — Council held an hour-and-a-half review of one aspect of the ongoing plans to renovate Yoctangee Park, and still didn’t cover all the concerns.
Jeff Creed, chair of the Safety Service Committee, directed a review session on “exterior streets and intersections” and kept it focused and crisp. It began with a two-part presentation by two planners of the project from American Structurepoint, the Indiana consulting firm.
You can watch council’s official video on Facebook or YouTube. It lacks a view of the speakers, presentation, and audience – but has mostly clear audio, and closed captioning is available.
Michael Salvadore of American Structurepoint gave the introduction and reviewed the project. He starts speaking at 4:45 in the video. At 7:20, he listed the three main thrusts of the project:
- New buildings and renovated armory – to create a new visitors center as a hub for Ross County tourism (including the World Heritage Hopewell), and an all-seasons pavilion for the Chillicothe Farmers Market and other groups and events.
- Upgrade amenities: new amphitheater, renovated pickleball courts, renovated trails within the park, more parking spaces, etc.
- Street network upgrades, focused on safety for pedestrians and vehicles.
(Hear Salvadore previously in a long interview last summer where he described the concepts: “Roundabout Still Among Major Yoctangee Park Renovations Being Planned in Chillicothe” – 08/28/2024)
Tony Lenhart of American Structurepoint gave the slide show from 11:30 to 45:00 in the video – filled with bullet points, roundabout plans overlaid on current aerial photos of intersections, and statistics showing public perceptions and safety. (An online copy of the presentation was suggested, but so far I am unaware if it is available yet.)
Lenhart illustrated the three urban roundabouts planned for Water Street at Paint and at Yoctangee Parkway, another at Yoctangee and Mill Street, and a reorganized intersection at Mulberry and Riverside streets.
One point that he made was that the planners had discussed, with firefighters, the need for fire engines to fit through the roundabouts. They also worked to avoid loosing parking places outside the park, and say they are down to a net loss of only two.
It was also stated that the roundabouts and “road diet” – reducing lanes in Water Street and Yoctangee Boulevard – is to improve a new “driving experience” that avoids cutting through the park.
Two statements and a public Q&A followed, until the reviews session had to be cut off for the council session (which was dominated by concerns about homeless camps – see “‘Anti-Camping’ Received its First Reading Amid Protests by Homeless Advocates in Chillicothe Council” – 03/11/2025)
Ben Daughters, president of Downtown Chillicothe Inc., read a prepared statement with six main concerns for the downtown. You can hear him in the video from 45:00 to 54:00, and read his statement that he shared with me in a side story – along with more photos: “‘Exterior Streets and Intersections’ Around Yoctangee Park Reviewed by Chillicothe Council.”
The co-owner of “Ivy’s” at Paint and Water, Melissa Huggins, also read a prepared statement of her concerns about the impact on her business – including deliveries and traffic flow impacting her newly signed 10-year lease. She spoke from 1:12:00 to 1:18:00 in the video.
Limited time was available for questions from the audience. One prominent commenter was Ed Kunzelman, a major downtown property owner (and past councilman and co-founder of Petland) who is currently renovating “Wissler Hall” at Paint and Water. He echoed complaints of a lack of community input…to applause.
Councilman Creed said the city wants to do the right thing with this planning: Make park roads and city streets safer, but also not hurt businesses. He promised another review session to allow for more dialog, hopefully in about two weeks – and hopefully in a larger space, when he wants to also present updated plans on the revised road network within the park (which includes removing some roads).
Creed welcomes the public to reach out to him. He said he already has more than 100 emails – “some for, most against.” Hear him in his own words in the below video interview.
The Ross County Commissioners also saw a presentation on another part of the plan recently, the proposed buildings. Learn more in “Revisions Promised for Criticized Chillicothe Park Building Plans” (03/10/2025).
Again, find more from council’s review session in the side story “‘Exterior Streets and Intersections’ Around Yoctangee Park Reviewed by Chillicothe Council.”
