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WHEELING - A full house of interested parties gathered at West Virginia Northern Community College on Wednesday night to provide input on the Edible Mountain Coalition’s plan to create new outdoor recreational spaces in the heart of Wheeling’s most urban areas.
The Edible Mountain Coalition, in conjunction with Grow Ohio Valley, has already been approved to receive a $3.2 million federal reclamation grant to redevelop a former hillside mine site above East Wheeling and below the Vineyard Hill and Grandview area. Initial concepts call for a variety of projects to take place at the site, including installation of hiking and mountain biking trails, creation of forest observation areas, repairs to a hillside slip above the Nelson Jordan center, renovations to the center itself, creation of educational stations and improvement to accessibility to the property.
A long-term master plan proposed for the effort reaches well beyond just the reclaimed hillside mine site. Proposals for a multimillion-dollar future urban redevelopment include everything from zip lines and other outdoor recreational facilities to orchards, a hillside funicular, exercise meadows, community gardens, a goat pasture and more.
"These plans are sketchy, and they can change - and this is the time that we need to hear what you don’t like just as much as what you like," Gabe Hays, principal landscape architect with the Wallace Pancher Group, said.
"We want as much input from existing residents as possible," Glynis Board, placemaking lead for the Edible Mountain Coalition, said. "It’s not going to happen all at once. It’s going to happen slowly. With the big picture, we’re talking $60 million in investments. That’s long-term. This is not a short-term project. But we’re starting with $3.2 million on the former mine site."
A primary focus of the effort coincides with the mission of Edible Mountain, which focuses on eliminating health disparities experienced by Wheeling’s urban youth. The goal is to shift policies and environments in the city by focusing on six key health areas: physical fitness, food and nutrition, a sense of belonging, access to nature, creative play and artistic expression.
Recently, Wheeling City Council voted to enter into a lease agreement with Grow Ohio Valley Inc. for several parcels of city owned property in the affected area on the hillside to accommodate the project.
"It’s an exciting time to live in Wheeling," Jason Koegler, Grow Ohio Valley’s new executive director, said. "The Edible Mountain Coalition is creating pathways for both health and leadership. And we’re doing this with the guidance of previously unheard pockets of our community - particularly our youth. This city park initiative is a great step in the right direction for our county and our region."
The proposed part is designed to create safe, clean and accessible green spaces in the community where residents and visitors can gather. The effort targets residents of these urban neighborhoods who - compared to the rest of the county - have limited access to natural green spaces.
Coalition members have held previous stakeholder meetings and have even launched grassroots efforts to go door-to-door in affected neighborhoods to speak with residents one-on-one to get direct input about what local people want and what they feel is needed.
"The Edible Mountain coalition has worked with community members in East Wheeling and the broader community to build a smart, relevant and bold vision for the future of the Vineyard Hill land," Wheeling Ward 3 Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum, chief operating officer for the Edible Mountain Coalition, said. "This event will mark nearly three years of community engagement sessions which have built this vision from the ground up."
Ketchum noted that this ambitious effort is designed to have a tremendous impact on the future of the community, noting that it is vital that the youth of the community be involved in the process of moving it forward.
"Tonight’s about capturing the stories, the ideas, the history, the experiences of this community so that we can build a public park - a city park - and an environment that supports all of our missions, but most importantly supports the kids who are here and may stay here, we hope," Ketchum said.
Youth leader with Edible Mountain Siyan Lopez said the placemaking initiative will give local kids a place to be creative, to explore and to be physically active.
"By supporting a coalition of wellness and shaping a healthy environment, we’re creating a beautiful community for East Wheeling families to grow in," Lopez said, noting that Edible Mountain has helped support her and motivate her into taking more of a leadership role in her city’s future.
Participants at Wednesday night’s session were able to discuss concerns with coalition members and vote on elements of the proposed master plan by ranking their favorite parts of the plan. Following the event, the community input will be used to polish and publish a rendered version of the plan, Board explained.
"That version will become a road map of ideas that can guide fundraising efforts to continue work to make downtown Wheeling and Ohio County a place where it’s fun and easy to be healthy," Board said.