Conneaut Lake Borough Council's first meeting of the new year took on a rather tense feel when a passionate debate took place concerning a spruce-up plan for Fireman's Beach.

The Community Development Committee, (CDC), had approached Council in December in order to ascertain if there might be an interest in applying for some grants to carry out some improvements at the beach.

As was reported after the December meeting, the whole thing began in 2008 when members of CDC presented a beach plan to Council that did not meet their criteria.

In the eleventh hour, a vote was taken on the proposal and the results were 4 to 3, with the no votes winning.

Several items had been brought to light as to why Council had been disagreeable in '08. One of the biggest roadblocks, in terms of not going for the grants, was that of parking.

The grant from DEP, (Department of Environmental Protection), stipulated that bio retention areas would have to be placed in strategic locations in the beach region, which, in the end, would have eaten up too much of the parking, according to Council. This is to what Council members refer, later in the meeting, when they ask about DEP “changing their minds.” In other words, would they reverse course and give grants without the stipulated bio retention regions and green spaces that were a part of the plan in '08.

Since '08, CDC has been working on some other ways to generate an interest in visiting Conneaut Lake, as that is the mission statement of the group.

During the January meeting, Bill Eldridge, of CDC, made a request that a letter be sent to two governmental agencies, DEP being one, and DCNR, (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources), being the other.

The subject of said letter was to set up a future meeting between Borough Council, CDC members and PA governmental officials to discuss the various grant programs available. The object would be to obtain potential funding for improvements to the beach.

So, when Eldridge approached Council, he stated repeatedly that the request was for this letter to be sent.

Because Council had decided against going for any kind of grant the last time, Eldridge explained that the governmental officials wanted to make sure, or have evidence, that the borough was interested in going forward this time. He also stated that he felt that there had been a “missed opportunity” the last time that this unfolded.

Right after Eldridge stated to the board that he wanted a member, or members, to attend a meeting in Meadville, Borough Council President Richard Holabaugh said that he wanted a bit more clarification as to what the word “improvements” meant, for instance. He mentioned that the officials would, more than likely, want to know as well.

He continued to ask if, theoretically, they would make friends or enemies by going to a meeting with the above-mentioned higher ups. He then said that he felt a bit uncomfortable using the word “threatened,” to describe how he felt a few years ago, but couldn't find a more suitable word to use.

At that point, Holabaugh asked Councilwoman Penny Monahan if she would describe the general feel by using that word. She answered, “First of all I really disagree that we had a missed opportunity. This was something that was railroaded through with no input from any of the borough residents who pay taxes here...”

Monahan went on to say that it was pushed through, in her opinion, without a lot of honesty. She minced no words as she imparted her opinion on the matter. “We were lied to about the fact that we'd have to come up with 1.5 million dollars to do the second and third phases of it...We voted on this thing twice.”

Eldridge began to address the issues one at a time and began by saying that, in his opinion, they would make friends and not enemies if they attended a meeting. He also said that when he used the words “missed opportunity” it was because he is hoping to get hundreds of thousands of dollars from the state in funding.

“Granted, we heard very loud and clear last month that there were a lot of concerns about the plan that was formed two years ago. That plan, as far as we're concerned, is dead...” Eldridge went on to say that they, in essence, were starting fresh with the whole deal.

Common ground was what Eldridge emphasized as he imparted that they would like to devise a plan that would be acceptable to all involved, including the officials who would approve, or deny, a grant. “It/s a new plan so, the past is the past,” he said.

Holabaugh asked if old wounds would be opened if DEP and the others came up with similar options as they had before, and the borough did not accept the terms.

A bit of history is in order at this point. Holabaugh maintains that a representative from DEP had told him that, because Council did not accept the grants offered the last time, they would not be so inclined to help in the future. Council went over this in more detail later on in the meeting.

Again Eldridge said they were starting with a clean slate. Holabaugh asked if, in his opinion, he thought the agencies would change their minds and Eldridge said he thought they would.

He also said that he was clear about the concerns that had been brought forward, during the December meeting, and had discussed them thoroughly. “From my truly objective point of view, there's some miss-communication going on. Maybe they're changing their stories, maybe we're changing ours—I don't know...”

At that time, Councilman John Chuey spoke up and said that he had attended the meetings, and was certain that DEP was not going to change thoughts on the matter, period.

The words “green space” were mentioned on numerous occasions because this was fly in the ointment in terms of what DEP wanted, and what the borough was willing to sacrifice. DEP wanted more green space than the borough could afford to lose at the beach, due to parking needs, etc.

Eldridge brought things back to his reason for approaching Council and said there was an opportunity to make some changes, and he was hoping the board would say OK to sending member to a meeting, as a working partner with CDC.

He said that the questions Council had for him, would be better suited for the governmental officials, who would also be at the meeting.

Mayor Tim Kaider spoke up and said that he didn't think DEP would change their minds about what they wanted in terms of parking, green areas, etc. He asked if this was going to be another kind of environmental grant or something different.

Eldridge summed it up by saying, again, that these would be questions best discussed with the officials at a meeting.

Kaider said the subject had been visited two times already, and also stated that at the last meeting, having to do with the topic, Jack Lynch, (Crawford County Planning Director), was asked if he thought DEP would budge. According to Kaider, Lynch said that they would not be swayed.

Holabaugh asked if there were any other kinds of non DEP grants that could be sought. For instance, something from other agencies that would allow for matching grants for recreational items, lighting, security and things that would exclude DEP totally.

Eldridge said that those very themes were on the list to be discussed.

Holabaugh said Council would be more comfortable if they could negotiate with agencies other than DEP, due to the issues that arose the last time.

Eldridge took slight issue with the word “negotiations” by saying, “It's not a state mandated plan, or a state proposed plan. It is a local developed plan, granted, not very well coordinated with the borough, which the state officials were called into at some point...”

Two years ago, during round one, neither CDC nor Council had plans for the various bio retention areas, etc. The mayor reminded everyone that it was DEP that had come up with the plan for the green spaces, etc. Eldridge said that DEP stipulated these things in order for the borough to get 100% funding with no matching funds. It was part of the condition of the grant, in other words.

Several people on Council spoke up at once and said that it was not true as money would have had to be spent by the borough, when all was said and done.

Eldridge said that, as reasonable adults, they could find out exactly what was required by DEP and, if it turned out to be unacceptable, then they could move forward with a request for another kind of grant. He said that they could, perhaps, request an application for a recreational and/or safety improvement type-of- grant, if things didn't pan out with DEP.

He, once again, stated that the only request on behalf of CDC currently, was to sit down and talk to the agencies.

Councilman Bill Paris said he didn't want to “close the door on any future funding...” He expressed his worry that if they said no for a third time, they might not get funding in the future if it were needed for something else.

Paris went on to say that he absolutely wanted to make certain that they entered into it with the borough's guidelines up front, in total detail.

The mayor quickly jumped in for a brief second and said he thought they had done all that before. Holabaugh said that they had.