Ottawa approves lease agreement with Nells Woodland Foundation

Nells Woodland Foundation’s land at 2301 Columbus St. now has a lease agreement with the city that Mayor Dan Aussem said is similar to the one Ottawa has with Dayton Bluffs.

Aussem said their is a building on the land they’re going to use to teach arts, ecology and health programs as the other 56 acres is going to be trails through the woodland area that are open to the public.

Ottawa’s portion of the lease agreement has the city emptying trash cans out by the parking lot, providing some snow plowing and some other maintenance items.

“With the Dayton Bluffs agreement, we provide up to $25,000 a year for miscellaneous maintenance,” Aussem said. “For example, they might call us and say they’re going to have a farmer regrade some of the property and seed it. They take care of that and submit the bill to us.”

The $5 million, 12,420 square foot facility sits atop the hill along Columbus street as part of the Nell’s Woodland Foundation’s efforts to create resources that support stewardship and programming in ecology, wellness and the arts.