Kent Parks and Rec Holiday Gifts...

Just in time for the holidays, Kent Parks and Recreation sent word out that their 2011 canoe/kayak river access projects are finished.

I know the temperatures seem a bit chilly but actually the water levels at this time of the year can make for some great paddling.

However, getting in and out of the river in the winter is usually a little trickier (and the stakes are a little higher in the event of a slip, trip or fall) but thanks to the new projects being done, putting in and taking out of the river has never been easier or safer.

So grab your wet weather gear and a friend with a paddle and head out for some great river recreation in Kent.

The Parks Director put together a photo chronology for the two river access projects; one in downtown Kent around the Kent Dam, and the other out at Riverbend that I thought you’d fiind interesting.

Kent River Projects...

One project that Jim Bowling didn’t have time to mention in his Capital Projects wrap up for 2011 was the river access work that Kent Parks and Recreation have been busy overseeing this year. 

You may recall that 4 years ago the City hired the premier whitewater park engineering firm in the country to work with Kent residents, businesses and staff to come up with a long term water access and recreation plan for the stretches of the Cuyahoga River that runs thru downtown Kent. 

The idea was to build on the great success of the dam restoration project — which significantly improved water quality in the river — and continue to expand passive and active enjoyment of the river resource in Kent. 

The first step of enjoying the river is getting to it, and following up on the recommendations of the engineering firm, the City obtained $250,000 in State waterway funds to improve access to the river.  That grant included building a new canoe/kayak put-in up in Riverbend, new portage areas along the river’s edge near the dam, and new stairs and rails to slide a canoe/kayak from street level up above the river down to the river.

Kent Parks and Rec has been working with a contractor to use the State grant funds to build these river access improvements and by spring of 2012 river enthusiasts will be able to enjoy them. 

Kent Parks and Rec has also been working with the City Engineer to continue to plan for the next (and just about last) segments of the Portage Hike and Bike Trail which will run parallel to the river thru downtown Kent.  These last segments will connect the trail section from the new Fairchild Avenue Bridge to the great new sections behind Fred Full Park that go out to Middlebury Road. 

The access improvements were the easy part of the long term whitewater park plan — the hard part is finding the roughly $500,000 to $750,000 needed to build the in-river improvements to convert the section of the river in downtown Kent into a whitewater park training and recreation area. 

I haven’t posted about the whitewater park concept in some time but my enthusiasm for the idea is no less diminished.  I’ve seen too many other cities go thru this same process and come out with a great new environmental amenity that is viewed as a quality of life and economic development asset. 

The popularity of river recreation in Kent was evident with the early success of the Crooked River rental and livery services and there’s a sense that they’ve only just begun to tap into that market.

So where do we find the cash for the in-stream improvements?  That’s the million dollar question. 

It turns out that Dayton Ohio got funds from a local foundation to do the same thing that we’re talking about.  I have to admit I felt pangs of jealousy over Dayton’s funding but at least it validated the idea that we’re on the right track with our river plans in Kent.  Now we’ve just got to find an equally minded foundation for Kent. 

Here’s the details on the Dayton plans from an article in the Dayton Daily News.

$1 million grant spurs Great Miami River project
By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer
Updated 3:18 PM Wednesday, July 27, 2011

DAYTON — Imagine the scene a year after the hazardous Monument Avenue low dam is removed and replaced with two dam-like structures that offer safe passageways for recreational paddlers on the Great Miami River.

Downtown, many more people will be in the river piloting canoes and kayak play boats that dart and dance on engineered whitewater. Some will be pros executing elaborate moves and others will be newbies gliding down some fast water.

Crowds of people will be on shore watching, especially on weekends, predicts Carrie Scarff, the Five Rivers MetroParks point person for the dam removal and river restoration project.

That project, the better part of a decade in the making, got a boost Tuesday when executives with Cox Enterprises announced that the James M. Cox Foundation will provide a $1 million challenge grant toward the estimated $4 million construction effort.

It’s a top priority for the Downtown Dayton Plan, which includes among its goals attracting thousands of more people to live in a revitalized downtown. The river features would be under the management of Five Rivers Metro Parks.

The project is designed to hit several goals including river safety, water sport recreation and making downtown a draw for more residential and business development.

“This is great for the region, fantastic for the city,” said Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell.

The Monument Avenue low dam, built in 1978 to provide a patch of still water and a deep pool for power boating, was the site of a fatal drowning in 2003. The dam has no flood control purpose and would not pose a flooding issue if removed.

Scarff has been studying the potential of the project for the better part of a decade. Similar waterway improvements have been completed in Reno, Nev.; Pueblo, Colo.; Missoula, Mont.; and nearby in Springfield on Buck Creek.

Scarff expects the river will be a regional draw with tourists coming from Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Columbus. For example, in Missoula, Mont., a whitewater project created a dynamic draw that includes contests every Thursday that pulls in an audience of a couple hundred, Scarff said.

The grant was announced by Cox Enterprises Chairman Jim Kennedy who appeared with other executives at the Cox Arboretum.

“The James M. Cox Foundation and Cox Enterprises are strong believers in doing what we can to make a lasting impact on our natural resources. This project is a great example of that,” Kennedy said. “We all need to do our part, and my hope is that this gift will inspire others to make a difference and get this critical project done.”

Key to the decision was Alex Taylor, Executive Vice President of Cox Media Group and great-grandson of the late Gov. James M. Cox. In 2010 while working in Dayton, he committed to resolving the low dam safety issue and led the company in its first participation at Clean Sweep of The Great Miami River. Taylor, a recreational paddler and fly fisher who wrote a book about fishing, is on the board of directors of the nonprofit American Rivers, an organization dedicated to restoring natural river flows. He pursued the grant with the family foundation.

When the project completes, Taylor said, “I hope (the river) is a more accessible and safe place for kids and families. We should all be able to enjoy this.”

Bernie Farley, co-owner of watercraft dealer Whitewater Warehouse, 104 Valley St., hosts a Wednesday evening river trip for 75 boaters who travel from Eastwood MetroPark to his business along the river not far from RiverScape.

“I’ve been to these places around the country and it’s amazing the amount of return for the investment,” he said. “We’ll bring a new breed of consumer to the Dayton area. We have so many enthusiastic outdoors people here. It will have a dramatic effect. The economic effect will be huge.”

Brian Linnean, owner of the Wine Gallery and Cafe at the corner of Main Street and Monument Avenue along the river, now partners with the Whitewater Warehouse on river tours. He said he’d expand his business and install bike racks and kayak racks when the project completes.

“It will be a great deal for downtown,” he said. “Right now, the low dam scares off a lot of people.”

Mike Ervin, co-chair of the Downtown Dayton Partnership and chairman of the board of managed care company CareSource, which built a new headquarters downtown near the river, said: “We are thrilled with the leadership role Cox has taken in moving this project forward. They are strong supporters of strengthening our community. This project is critical to a vibrant downtown, but is it much more. It will contribute to the economic development of our entire region, whether you live in Tipp City or Centerville.”

The project should work well with the 285 miles of regional bike trails and Dayton Dragon’s at Fifth Third Field, Scarff said, to build excitement for downtown. By next year, two major bike trail connection projects should link downtown Dayton to Troy and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Fairborn.

In the plan, the low dam would be removed along with its dangerous five-foot drop and deadly downstream boil. Two stretches of engineered limestone blocks or boulders would be built to reach across the river east and west of the North Main Street bridge.

One stretch would be at the RiverScape MetroPark. The second would be near the YMCA building at the riverside amphitheater and concrete platform stage shaped like a boat.

The rock formations across the river will look something like dams, but will have engineered passages through them for watercraft. Each stretch would give paddlers a ride through a safe two-foot drop.

The 30- to 40-foot-wide passages would be arranged so that experienced paddlers could take a more challenging ride and the less experienced could use a gentler drop.

Each rock used in the river structures would be about 2 tons and each structure will be from 390 to 400 feet across. From 800 to 1,000 boulders would make up each structure.

Water quality will also improve and new habitats for fish will be created, said Dusty Hall, program development manager with the Miami Conservancy District. “It’s a win on recreation and on attraction and retention of the workforce,” Hall said.

The Cox grant should provide a strong kickoff for the project.

“The idea is to use this money to get the project going,” said Julia Wallace, Vice President for Cox Media Group, which includes the Dayton Daily News.

“Cox is concerned about good stewardship of natural resources. This project fits right in with that. Our rivers are beautiful and a great resource for the area. The more we can make them a prime attraction for residents and tourists, the better. The river can and should be a focal point for the community.”

Wallace said fundraising will be aimed at securing large corporate donations to get the project underway according to an aggressive construction schedule that could begin next year.

By September, MetroParks hopes to have final engineering construction plans that can be put out for bid. Permit approvals are needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the city and county.

According to an early schedule, a bid could be awarded by Jan. 2, 2012, and construction could begin in February.

A preliminary completion date is February 2013 — the 100th anniversary year of the Great Flood — allowing for a year of construction, Scarff said.

Ervin said he’s confident that the remaining funding can be raised. “Times are tough. But we have to reach deep and do something special,” he said. “I’m very optimistic.”

The James M. Cox Foundation is named in honor of the Cox Enterprises’ founder who purchased the Dayton Daily News in 1898 and was Ohio’s first three-term governor.

Cox Media Group Ohio includes the Dayton Daily News, WHIO-TV, WHIO-AM/FM, Springfield News-Sun, Hamilton JournalNews and the Middletown Journal, as well as other publications and broadcast outlets in southwest Ohio.

Senior Services...

There’s been talk for some time about the wave of baby boomers that are entering their golden years and the impacts that bubble will have on local communities but it always felt like it was somewhere out there over the horizon.  I’m thinking somewhere is now. 

It turns out we’re already in the midst of that senior wave, it’s just a slow roller so I don’t think we necessarily recognize the waters rising around us. 

They say if you put a frog in a boiling pot he’ll hop right out, but turn the heat up slowly and the frog will never realize what a mess he’s got himself into until it’s too late.  We don’t want to be that frog, so after the recent senior housing dilemma in Kent we’re working hard to have plenty of cooler pots to jump into.

Its been reported that all but 5 seniors have moved into new housing with the sale of the Silver Oaks property, and those 5 remaining residents have secured housing that they will move into in January 2012.  So the immediate housing relocation crisis appears to be passed but the lesson remains to start planning since none of us are getting any younger. 

As a matter of fact, that point really hit home when I saw some recent data that illustrated the aging patterns in Ohio.  Not surprisingly Ohio’s baby boomers mirror the national pattern.

Pretty compelling data with a great visual showing the movement of the boomers into their later years.  The question for us is are we prepared for them, and their housing needs, their health service needs, their economic needs, their security, etc. 

When the bubble is relatively small, we can handle the demand but as it grows so significantly, we need to be ramping up as well.  Yet, with the economy circling in a holding pattern overhead (which for the record is far better than crash landings that some communities have had to deal with) the question is how do we expand our service base to meet the changing needs of our customers.

It’s always dangerous to lump population segments into categories but it’s pretty clear that as we all get older, we’ll need a little more help and we recognize that we need to be stitching together that bigger community safety net right now so it’s ready when the bubble lands. 

To that end, the staff has really started to dig into gaining a better understanding of senior living and senior quality of life expectations.  It’s early yet but it seems to me that senior housing and senior public health are likely to be the two most significant areas of City engagement.  The good new is that there are natural partners out there for both of those areas so we plan to work as collaboratively as possible to leverage expertise and dollars wherever possible. 

Interestingly, seniors are often attracted to university cities and the amenities that they offer so we think Kent is potentially uniquely positioned to serve seniors.  If we get this right, I think it will really secure the stability of the Kent community for decades. 

More work will follow these topics but I thought it was worth noting that there’s been a re-focusing of efforts to prepare for the arrival of the baby boomers in their prime and after.

Kent $1.3 Million Grant Award...

Typically when my phone rings late on Friday afternoon with an urgent message it’s usually not good news but after today I’ll never view Friday calls the same.

This afternoon I received a call from Dan Smith, Kent’s Economic Director, on his way back from the State hearing where our Clean Ohio grant application for $1.34 million was up for consideration.   Of course the cell phone connection cut off just as Dan was about to tell me the results of the grant review.  

Seriously, it was like a scene from a bad sit com.  I kept trying to call him back, text him, anything to find out what happened.  Nothing for about 20 minutes — at which time I was ready to fire him, but fortunately for both of us, he finally called me back with great news – our grant request was fully funded at $1.34 million.

This was an extremely important grant because it knocks down the first domino in a series that we’re hoping leads to many new business and new jobs in Kent. 

Here’s the domino chain: 

- By getting the grant, we can now proceed to work with the property owner on the final soil clean up at the old RB&W site on Mogadore Road.   

- The grant funds bring enough new capital to the deal to allow the environmental work to be done so that the site can be transferred to the City for redevelopment. 

- The City can then work with a business prospect that has some interest in the location.

- We hope to then package the new business prospect as an anchor tenant in our application for additional State Economic Development Funds which would help us finance phase 1 of the Great Atlantic and Western Business Park.

- The Business Park would serve as a business innovation and incubation center to help emerging technology companies — particularly those companies that spin out of the research from Kent State Univeristy – get a jump start on commercialization of their new products.

- As new businesses graduate out of the early incubation phases of the Business Park we hope to expand the Business Park into a linear advanced materials industrial production hub that extends through the old Kent railroad corridor heading south all the way out to Brimfield creating new clusters of technology based businesses.        

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Receiving $1.34 million is always a great thing but getting $1.34 million to knock down the first domino that sets our industrial corridor strategy in motion is fantastic.  

Here’s a little more insight into the corridor development strategy (and how it builds off our downtown redevelopment efforts and Kent State University) that we’ve been working on for years now. 

Industrial Corridor Development
The industrial development corridor (also called the production corridor in the map below, green shading)  extends from downtown Kent and runs along the rail lines out to Interstate 76.  The City’s industrial development plans create a hub and spoke framework, with the Kent central business district and Kent State University serving as the hub, and business clusters extending outwards through the utility corridors to form the spines of industry activity. 

The City’s business development strategy is built on the premise that innovation and business growth enjoy a competitive advantage in places where the specialties of research, technology, commerce and culture are given opportunities to converge.  The goal is to create a shared physical environment where people will gather, ideas will cross-pollinate, and innovation becomes a way of life. 

Kent supplies that shared space in its vibrant downtown, on the Kent State University campus, in business incubators, and in the many recreational, cultural and social opportunities provided in the Kent community.  

The strategy aims to align city, university, and business assets in such a way that Kent, as a place, can be a catalyst for an economic revival that creates jobs, inspires new technologies, spawns entrepreneurship, and keeps Kent the kind of place people are proud to call home. Simply stated the strategy seeks to put Kent’s assets to work for the local, regional and state community.

The goal is to unlock the opportunities of Kent and jump start the region-wide rebuilding  process  for  sustainable  economic  growth  irrespective  of  the  highs  and  lows  off business cycles.  Kent’s investments are positioning Kent to be the flagship for the new economy where innovation, entrepreneurship, global reach and leading edge research technology are the drivers of economic success. 

Kent is seeking to affirm its role as a place that attracts and retains people and businesses who seek out the energy and culture unique to university locations; seeding the pipeline for emerging business opportunities that generate real growth in the local and regional economy.

The close proximity and connectivity of the industrial corridor to Kent’s downtown and Kent State University puts the Mogadore site in a position to be a catalyst for economic renewal, making this grant one of the most important domino’s we’ve tipped in a long time.

On-Line Accident Reports...

Being involved in an accident can be a harrowing experience, and we take our job as first responders very seriously.  In less than 2 minutes after you find yourself in trouble, we expect to be at your side, providing whatever help is necessary to get your life back on track. 

The focus at the accident scene will always be ensuring the safety of everyone involved but once we get that covered there’s still plenty of work to be done documenting and reporting the incident so that insurance companies can get busy on your behalf to fix or replace what’s been bent, broke and damaged.

One of the key pieces that the insurance company needs to do their job is the Police Report for the incident.  That’s where we come in again. 

The Police Reports outline the details of what occurred based on the investigative results noted at the scene.  From that data, the insurance company will make the call as to what is or is not covered under existing insurance policies. 

Getting those Police Reports into the hands of the insurance companies is a critical first step on the road to recovery — and I’m pleased to report that the Kent Police Department has now begun to make those Police Reports available on-line.  No more driving down to the Police Station to request copies — your accident reports are only a couple of mouse-clicks away at any time. 

We’re hoping that the convenience and timeliness of online access will reduce some of the administrative pain that can follow an accident.  Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for you to put the incident behind you as quickly as possible. 

Here’s the link to the Kent Police Web Site for Accident Reports: http://www.kentpd.org/Accidents.html

Stay safe out there.

Kent Sustainability...

One of the founding principles of Kent’s Bicentennial Plan was sustainability. 

In the Plan, sustainability had broad shoulders holding up goals for environmental sustainability, social sustainability and even fiscal sustainability. 

With such a broad reach, sustainability initiatives can be tough to pin down.  The good news is the Bicentennial Plan recognized that challenge and came up with a to do list for each of the sustainability categories. 

The City, sustainability-minded volunteers, the University and Kent businesses have been quietly going about the work of achieving those initial goals (see the latest sustainability status report), adding new ones along the way as the first batch get accomplished. 

Sustainability is still probably most closely associated with environmental preservation, protection, and restoration — and one of the most effective environmental movers and shakers through the years has been the Kent Environmental Council. 

This 1970′s community organization may not be as young as it used to be but its membership is still as environmentally committed as ever with local projects big and small.  Education and sharing information remains one of their top priorities and they have announced the 2011 Kent Environmental Council Fall Forum, titled (appropriately) — “Kent Sustainability?” 

The Forum will be held Thursday, November 10, from 7-9pm at the United Church of Christ, 1400 E. Main St., Kent.

The featured speaker will be David Beach, from the Cleveland Natural History Museum and founder of EcoCity, Cleveland, reporter and author. He will address sustainability with a focus on Northeastern Ohio. His keynote address will be followed by the three aspects of sustainability. Melanie Knowles, Manager of Sustainability at KSU will address Environment. Robert Howard, retired hospital administrator will speak to the issue of Equity and Jack Crews, Kent Regional Business Alliance will address Economics.

For additional information go to http://www.kentenvironment.org/or contact Deb Butler, 330.678.0227.

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As a side note, I noticed that some sustainability minded students had recently completed some clean up work at the Mogadore Reservoir.  Being the young techies that they are, they produced a home grown video to show off the work they did. 

It’s great to see the next generation picking up where the list one left off and on this cloudy rainy day, the fall shots of the Reservoir are worth watching. 

Mogodore Reservoir Video

Old Hotel Perspective...

We’re all too familiar with how the exterior of the old hotel buildings looks, and if you checked out any of the video clips of the building walk thru last week, you’ve got a sense for what awaits Mr. Burbick on the inside. 

Clearly, in and out needs a lot of work.  Assuming the building passes the structurally sound test (which it appears that it has), it’s no small step from there to a functional and relevant building in a modern sense — those little things like working plumbing and an elevator might matter to future tenants.

Like a lot of things, if it was easy someone would have already done it, but just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s impossible.  One architect pointed out that lots of things are improbable when it comes to conventional restoration of the old hotel — which is why it sat like it has for so many years — but it’s not impossible as Mr. Burbick intends to prove.

We’ve all seen what falls off of Mr. Burbick’s dreaming tree — little Acorn Alley 1 and Acorn Alley 2.  The question is can Ron pull another acorn out of his hat? 

That’s what we wrestled with as a City — we didn’t want to set Ron, or anyone else for that matter, up to fail with a Herculean task that exceeded our oversized aspirations.  

However, at the end of the day, with a lot of help from friends, we came to the conclusion that restoring the old hotel is possible, however impractical it may appear.  Part of that confidence comes from watching how the little town of Galion Ohio took their own dilapitated hometown hotel and brought it back to life. 

Believe it or not, the Galion hotel was actually in worse shape, and yet it turned out great.  If they can do it, why not Kent? 

Here’s a little pictoral comparison of the Kent and Galion hotels.  Notice how much worse the exterior of the Galion hotel was — large chunks of the building were missing and the roof had even more holes than the floors.  And on the interior, the Kent Hotel walls and doors and etc. have already been excavated and removed whereas Galion’s hotel was a maze of junk.  Also, the columns in Kent’s hotel are larger and appear to be in comparatively better shape.

All of which leads us to cling to the hope that salvaging this building is a cause worth supporting. 

If you’re interested, I’ve provided a link to a powerpoint that outlines the Galion Hotel project:   Galion Ohio PowerPoint Story

Discarding Drugs...

Cabinets full of expired or unneeded medications?  Not sure what to do with them?  The Portage County Sheriff’s Office can help. 

It turns out that this Saturday, October 29th, the Portage County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with Portage County Water Resources Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration, is giving the public an opportunity to safely discard unused and unwanted prescription drugs.

Halloween In Kent...

The late night downtown Halloween festivities tend to draw the most attention but there’s a lot of other good old fashioned Halloweening that goes on around Kent. 

Last weekend Kent Parks and Recreation held their Haunted Hayrides (a big hit with the under 10 crowd) and this Friday, October 28, Main Street Kent is hosting their Family Friendly Halloween activities from 5pm to 8pm in downtown Kent. 

Here’s the details:

But wait, there’s more — and in very Halloween fashion its found in unexpected places. 

It turns out that Kent State University will open the doors to the Recreation Facility for a Haunted wRECk event for children ages 12 and under on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.  — read the details in their press release below.    

Halloween Comes Early to Kent State University

Kent, OH – The Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC) and Ice Arena at Kent State University will be celebrating Halloween with their annual event, Haunted wRECk, on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Haunted wRECk is a free trick-or-treat costume party designed for children 12 and under and includes nine themed areas to explore and collect candy!

The festive night starts with Halloween crafts and a scary photo booth. Participants may park at the SRWC for free from 5 – 9 p.m. Ghoul guides will then escort guests through a spooky tour of each area. Visitors can hitch a ride on the Spooky Express to the Ice Arena to hear the rest of the story and for the “Greeks, Ghouls and Goblins Pit Stop.” The pit stop is part of a combined effort with Kent State’s fraternities and sororities to provide a safe environment for children to trick-to-treat. Each Greek chapter will decorate a car in the parking lot and participants will collect candy when visiting each one. After the final decorated area at the Ice Arena, visitors are welcome to stay for a free food and ice-skating.

On the ride back to the SRWC, participants are invited to judge a staff decorating competition by voting for their favorite themed area. While there is no fee for this event, nonperishable food items would be greatly appreciated. All donations will be given to the United Way.

For more information about the event, please visit our website at www.kent.edu/recservices/hauntedwreck.

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And last but not least, the City of Kent officially hosts traditional trick or treating in City neighborhoods on Sunday, October 30th from 3 pm to 5 pm.  Houses with their lights on have goodies for every little ghost and goblin. 

Sugar will be in abundance for the next 4 days in Kent. 

Have fun and stay safe. 

Fairchild Bridge Opening...

It’s official, the new Fairchild Avenue Bridge will go into service at 8:30 am on Thursday, October 27. 

The engineers sent word around on Tuesday that the final touches should be done on Wednesday so the bridge could be opened on Thursday.  Being engineers, the bridge opening was just another task on the work schedule that followed after item 5,643 (remove the barricades on the bridge) — so when we heard the good news we intervened and added cut ribbon and take photos to their task list.

The bridge opening has been a long time coming, and as the largest bridge project in the history of Portage County, it seemed worthy of a momentary celebration, a few snips of the scissors and pictures for posterity. 

I know, it sounds a bit dramatic — yes, it’s just a bridge after all — but if you knew how much work went into getting to this point, you’d raise a toast to the engineers and everyone involved in this project.  We can’t do that on company time so we’ll settle for some ribbons and pictures — saving the bottle popping and toasting for a little later. 

Technically, the project still has a lot more work to go.  Most immediately we’ve got some more signal work that needs to be finished before the Crain Avenue connection can be re-opened, so at least until next Monday the new bridge will only be open to Water Street.

Then the old bridge will come down and we’ll build a new hike and bike bridge in it’s place.  The roadway alignments still need some work and all of the green space, including the park like landscaping and the stormwater features all have to be built next year.  

But those are tomorrow’s worries, today we celebrate the bridge opening.