In other business, Recreation Supervisor/Pool Manager Amber Smith reported improved numbers for lifeguards, noting that three veterans are coming back now and six newcomers have signed up for training. The NatureWorks grant will be the subject of city council’s Public Services Committee meeting at 6 p.m. He said the pond was last dredged more than 30 years ago. If the dredging project is funded, once it’s complete, plants andįlowers suggested by the SWCD will be planted along the pond and island bank, improving the aesthetics. “Removing this sediment will not only help improve the water quality but will directly increase the health and safety of local citizens visiting the duck pond,” Franks wrote, expressing concern over someone getting stuck in the sediment if they go in the water, which they aren’t supposed to do anyway. He said the next step to improve the water quality is to dredge the pond and remove 18 to 20 inches of sediment. He explained the deepest part of the pond is 3.5 feet deep and the sediment measures 2 feet deep, leading to algae blooms in the summer that cover a majority of the surface. In the description of the dredging project, Franks wrote about the popularity of the duck pond, all the Eagle Scout projects done to enhance the area, the lighted water fountain added last year, and the efforts to reduce the goose population, which will make the water and area cleaner, and reduce future sediment. He stressed the goal was never to get rid of all the geese, but to just reduce the numbers, which has been done legally and correctly. “Our management plan is working,” Franks said.

Instead of 100, they’re seeing maybe a dozen or so. They haven’t located any nests yet and the number of geese showing up has been cut down considerably. If they discover eggs, the harassment must stop.

Since then, the department put a low fence around the bank of the pond to make it less attractive to the geese and also employed some noise and laser light techniques to scare them off.įranks said he recently received a complaint from someone about them harassing the fowl this time of year, but he checked on the rules with his SWCD contact who in turn contacted the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Dredge pond