BAILEY LAKES — What’s better than one new park?
Don’t think too hard — the answer is two new parks. That’s what Bailey Lakes and Ashland County officials celebrated Saturday morning, along with community members and children.
The pair of parks located on either side of U.S. 250 are now open to the public. Saturday’s ceremony took place at Ringler Park — the larger of the two — which is nestled at the intersection of Highland Boulevard and Wesley Street.
Ringler Park features a jungle gym, swings, rockers and spinners.
The smaller park, known as Lakeview Park, is located along Lake Drive and situated on property overseeing Savannah Lake. It includes a jungle gym and swings.
Bailey Lakes Mayor John Benshoff said when the village was setup in the early 1960s, the property Ringler Park now sits on was owned by the Ringler family.
The Ringler family designated the property — along with the property on Lake Drive — to be “parks forever,” Benshoff said.
As the village evolved, the previous parks had swing sets, teeter-totters, slides and even horseshoe pits, he said.
“We had everything in there until all of the sudden we found out that they didn’t comply with insurance regulations and we started having to dismantle things as we went,” the mayor said.
In January, Ashland County was awarded $150,000 through the Community Development Block Grant Allocation Program. These funds were used for the purchase and installation of the playground equipment at each park.
Bailey Lakes Village Council applied for CDBG funding through the Ashland County Board of Commissioners in 2025.
“You invested in our community and we really appreciate it up here,” Benshoff told Ashland County commissioners Denny Bittle, Jim Justice and Michael Welch, each of which attended Saturday’s ceremony.
The mayor also thanked Ashland County Board of Commissioners clerk Nikki Hiller for her help coordinating the project and making it a reality.
“We couldn’t have done it without her,” he said. “It was really the smoothest deal that we’ve ever done. There was no complaints at all.”
Hiller said this was her favorite project.
“This is something that I’ve wanted to do for your village for a long time and I’m so glad that you could finally make it happen,” she said.
Photos by Hayden Gray (Story continues below.)
The estimated $140,000 project was completed by DWA Recreation, who’s bid on the project came in under budget at $130,853.10. With additional grant funds remaining, the village was able to install benches at both Ringler and Lakeview parks.
Benshoff also thanked Richard Brown, village administrator, Brown’s son, Tyler Brown, and Steve Dinsmore, who all contributed to site preparation efforts.
“We appreciate everything you guys do,” the mayor said.
Welch said the board has always tried to spread CDBG funds around to different areas of the county.
“It also takes the people in those communities to have the initiative to start a project and bring it to our attention,” he said. “This is just one of the communities that benefitted out of it.”
Bittle echoed similar sentiments.
“You have to have vision going forward of what you want your community to look like and I know Bailey Lakes is not a huge community, but they’re a very friendly, close-knit community and that’s what makes Ashland County so great,” he said.
