ALLEN COUNTY, Ohio (WLIO) – After hearing from the public, the Johnny Appleseed Metro Park District will not be changing its name.
The district recently completed a public survey to gather community feedback on whether a change should be made. The other proposed name was “Metro Parks of Allen County.” A majority of respondents said they felt a strong connection to the current name and identity of the Johnny Appleseed Metro Park District.
“So, we had over 800 responses, which is great. That means people cared. There's a lot of people that filled out the survey. We're very thankful for that. A little bit over 60% of people said that they that it would negatively affect kind of their view of the park district. And so looking at those numbers, it made sense to stick with where we were, and I think people here are okay with that, and we're excited for some of the things happening in the future,” said Tyler Black, executive director of JAMPD.
With the name decision settled, the park district will now turn its focus to major upcoming projects, including updating signage throughout the district.
“So the signage projects itself is going to be kind of a five to 10 year process. It's not going to be an overnight thing, and so that's still a big project that we're doing. And then there's some other things coming this fall that I think will be exciting for people, namely some trails that'll open about two miles of trails out near Kendrick Woods that'll open for people to have more access,” Black said.
The trails are part of a wetland restoration project funded by a $2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. They run alongside the Auglaize River near Kendrick Woods.
