Danbury Township, Marblehead, Lakeside, Ohio, 43440,parks, zoning, tourism, police, fire, business.

In 2000 the Township Trustees made an unprecedented purchase of 33 acres of forest and brook area. Township residents Tim Nash and his late wife, Sylvia, graciously offered this property known as Meadowbrook to the Township at well-below market value. This natural preserve area is home to gulls, heron, geese, ducks, migrating waterfowl, an assortment of water life and wildlife and even an occasional bald eagle.

In December 2001 the Township secured a matching fifty-percent grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to purchase the wetland area of Meadowbrook that is adjacent to the current property. The Department of Natural Resources, The Ottawa County Soil and Water Conservation District and Pheasants Forever extended their full support of this acquisition. The prior Meadowbrook parcel as well as the fifty-percent match for the wetland area was funded solely with estate tax dollars.

In May 2007 the trustees were awarded $221,787 from the Ohio Public Works Commission to purchase an additional 46 acres of Meadowbrook property. Danbury Township provided a 45% match of $181,462. Once again, this match amount came from estate tax dollars. With the Township's Meadowbrook holdings now reaching nearly 110 acres, a citizen team was gathered to create goals for developing approximately 79 non-wetland acres into a public park. The trustees hired The Collaborative, Inc., a park-planning consulting firm, to assist with this project and to plan hiking and biking trails along with low-density recreational uses accessible to the physically challenged. This project has focused on protection of native plant species and wildlife while allowing the public to enjoy the pristine, natural atmosphere of Meadowbrook Marsh. The Board of Trustees is extremely proud to have made these three acquisitions with no expense whatsoever to the taxpayers.

During 2008 the trustees were awarded three additional grants from ODNR for Meadowbrook. A $50,000 grant from the Office of Coastal Management in conjunction with support by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was awarded for a 1,121-foot paved multi-use trail and 80-foot long pond-side boardwalk. $40,000 was awarded by Natureworks for a 3-acre land acquisition and an additional $40,000 was awarded by Land and Water Conservation for construction of a 1,676-foot paved multi-use looped trail. Township matches for these three grants vary from twenty-five to slightly more than fifty-percent. Also during 2008 the Ottawa County Community Foundation awarded the trustees a $1,500 grant which was used to purchase park benches and an ADA picnic table. The paved trails along with intersecting grass and mulched trails are open to the public year-round from dawn to dusk. The Township does not permit hunting, motorized vehicles or horses in the preserve. Click here to download the Meadowbrook Marsh trail map.