Above is a rendering of the planned BMX park that will sit at the north east corner of Cypress and Holly lanes, behind the Marysville Estates mobile home park. The site had been a landfill.
(Photo submitted)
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Marysville is getting a Bicycle Motocross, or BMX, track.
The track will be built on the former Ray Lewis landfill at the northeast corner of Cyprus and Holly Lanes.
“The planets had to align to get this track to happen for us,” said Mike Andrako, Marysville City Safety Service Director.
Andrako said that for several years, resident Chad Clarridge has asked the city to create a BMX park. Clarridge has gone to a variety of meetings and made the request to several city committees.
“We thought it was a good idea, we just couldn’t find a suitable place to put it,” Andrako said.
He explained that most of the unoccupied, city-owned land is in the floodplain which is not conducive to a BMX park.
Andrako said the Lewis landfill was located on property owned by the Marysville Estates. He said the pollution on the site has been cleaned and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the remediation. Even so, the EPA limits what a former landfill can be used for. He explained that even after a property like this has been cleaned, there is additional testing that must be done each year to make sure there is no residual contamination at the site. Andrako said the testing would cost about $65,000 over five years.
“We saw that as an opportunity to install a BMX track on a property that was adjacent to city property,” Andrako said.
He said Marysville Estates will deed the property to the city, which has agreed to pay for the testing.
“There are actually quite a few examples of BMX tracks on landfills,” Andrako said.
He said EPA officials have given their blessing to the plan.
USA BMX, the governing body for BMX racing, has designed the track and will pay for its construction.
At Andrako’s urging, Marysville City Council expedited the legislative process to meet USA BMX’s desired timeline. Andrako said the deed will be conveyed to the city in August.
“That corresponds with the time they want to construct the track,” Andrako said, adding that USA BMX is hoping to have some races, possibly even a shortened fall season on the track yet this year.
According to USA BMX, Ohio has eight other tracks. Andrako said Marysville’s location and proximity to major freeway access makes the local track ideal for larger, regional competitions. He said he sees the track having an impact on the local Convention and Visitors Bureau.
When the track is not in competition use, it will be open for the public, Andrako told the city council. He said it will be open to the public every day from April through November. He said that depending on the weather, it could be opened sooner and kept open longer.
He said because of the materials used to construct the track, it will not be open when the weather is bad.
“If they are out using it during inclement weather, it can cause a lot of damage,” Andrako said.
He said the city is “very excited” about the solution and having the track to offer residents.
“It is a win-win for everybody,” Andrako said. “The city gets an amenity for the community, and the EPA wins because we are able to reuse a site that was a landfill,” Andrako said. “Otherwise, this would have sat empty.”