By Nancy Bowman
The Tipp City Foundation is marking its $2.75 millionth dollar grant award for amenities at the new Jesse Chamberlain Pond located east of the city on State Route 571.
The award is special not only for the financial milestone but for the foundation’s opportunity to again honor the late Chamberlain. He voluntarily served the foundation for more than 50 years, said Heather Bailey of the foundation.
“We have a very soft spot in our hearts for this new wetland area that has been named for him,” she said. Chamberlain died in 2021 at age 100.
The grant for $2,395 was awarded to the city of Tipp City for providing benches and trash receptacles at the pond.
The Tipp City Council voted to name the pond after Chamberlain following his death.
Finishing touches are being planned for the Jesse Chamberlain Pond, said Tim Eggleston, city manager.
The property is not a park, he emphasized. People can fish at the site at their own risk, if they wish, Eggleston said.
Motorized watercrafts are banned. The pond bottom is not flat and there are tree trunks and gravel areas of different heights designed to accommodate aquatic and wildlife, Eggleston said.
Work remaining at the pond by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service includes adding more gravel and a sign, which also will be a foundation project, Bailey said.
“Just some final touch ups and it will be done,” Eggleston said of the project started in 2021.
The wetlands area was created along the Great Miami River as part of the state Off-Channel Wetland H2Ohio Project.
The wetlands are created by excavating areas prone to flooding and then re-establishing a connection to the river channel. The areas are designed to restore fish habitat, improve overall water quality, expand off-river storage during flooding and reduce erosion to the river.
The Tipp City project cost of more than $250,000 was paid 100 percent by the State H2Ohio program, said Donnie Knight of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program. The city hired a contractor for the job but did not have any financial commitment, Eggleston said.
This project is designed to off load flood waters from the river and allow nutrients and sediments to settle out and be up taken by plants, Knight said.
“It reduces stream scour in the river which provides benefits to fish, freshwater mussels and other wildlife as well as protection to lands downstream by reducing bank erosion,” he said when the project was initiated.
A majority of the foundation grant was awarded from its Warren E. Miltenberger Parkland Fund. Funding also was provided from the advisers of the Wahl Family Fund, Bailey said.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The Tipp City Foundation is a member fund of The Troy Foundation. You can make a difference with your dollars in our community by:
- Donating online here.
- Making your check payable to the Tipp City Foundation and mail to P.O. Box 626, Tipp City, OH 45371.
- Setting up a fund or legacy plan by contacting Heather Bailey at (937) 528-2482.
STAY CONNECTED
We’d love to stay in touch. Stay connected with the Tipp City Foundation by:
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
All marketing activities of the Foundation is 100% underwritten by generous sponsors. Please contact us at info@tippfoundation.org for information on how your business or organization can become our partner in philanthropy.
- Silver Sponsor – Thrivent Financial (Matt Buehrer)
- Bronze Sponsors – Dunaway Family Foundation; Dungan & LeFevre; Ever-Green Turf & Landscape; Gibson Law Offices; Monroe Federal Savings and Loan; New Carlisle Federal Savings Bank; Pickrel, Schaeffer and Ebeling; Unity National Bank
- Friend Sponsors – Captor Corp.; Edward Jones (Neil Nehring); Frings & Bayliff Funeral Home; Minster Bank; RSM US; Turnstone Financial; US Bank
- Media Sponsor – Tippecanoe Gazette
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