People gather in Beverly Saturday for the first of two B&W GRO community meetings scheduled for this spring. (Photo Provided)

BEVERLY – Three years after Beverly and Waterford residents first gathered to dream about their community’s future, local leaders say those ideas are now turning into visible projects – from a new riverfront trail to fresh flowers and festivals downtown.

“We got a federal grant, one of 25 in the nation, and it was the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities grant,” said Mayor Jim Ullman. “What it did was bring in state and federal employees to help small communities like Beverly to develop plans on different recreations that would help bring in more people into the community to spend more money at our businesses.”

He said this created the Beverly & Waterford Growth and Revitalization Organization, often simply referred to as B&W GRO. Around 70 people attended the original workshop over two days, offering “ideas, dreams of what they would like to see the community look like, the improvements they would like to see.”

Ullman said nearly all of those ideas have seen movement.

“I know there’s well over 20 different things that were brought up, and three items have not been started yet, but the plans are being made to start them, and the rest of them are either complete or we’re working on.”

Members and volunteers of the B&W GRO pose for a picture Saturday after the group held a public meeting in Beverly to discuss various projects going on in the village. (Photo Provided)

One of the biggest projects is a multi-use trail along the Muskingum River, expected to break ground soon.

“It’s actually going to break ground sometime in April, weather depending on that, and with hopes to have it done by, I’d say mid to late summer,” Ullman said.

Since their founding, Ullman said B&W GRO has become the driving force behind many highly visible projects.

He said they are responsible for; flowers and streetscape beautification, entrance sign upgrades, the annual Sweet Corn Festival, and Christmas decorations and contests.

Ullman said B&W GRO also organizes an annual cleanup of Beverly Island, a 10-acre island often affected by high water and flooding.

Participants of the first of two B&W GRO community meetings scheduled for this spring post their ideas for future projects Saturday in the Village of Beverly. The next meeting will be scheduled for late April. (Photo Provided)

“Each year, this group will go out there, and in the spring, usually mid-late May, they’ll go through and open up the path clear around the 10-acre island,” Ullman said. “Because of the floods, the high waters always bring in some trash and debris, and each year they go in there and clean that out, making it ready for the rest of the summer.”

Ullman said Beverly is also working closely with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) on a major repaving project through Beverly.

“It was announced here probably two, three weeks ago that Beverly was awarded, I think, about $1.7 million for a repaving job,” he said.

Ullman said the recent community meeting wasn’t just a look back; it also generated new ideas and next steps.

“There were new ideas that were written down,” Ullman said. “We are planning a B&W GRO meeting here probably sometime before the end of April to go over all the things that were brought up and discussed in the meeting today, and then start making plans and working toward those goals.”

People gathered in Beverly Saturday for the first of two B&W GRO community meetings scheduled for this spring. (Photo Provided)

He said this will give community members another opportunity to get involved with the ongoing projects.

“That was one of the big topics that we discussed – we’re looking for more members to get involved and be part of the revitalization of the Beverly Waterford area,” he said.

Ullman stresses that there’s a place for everyone, regardless of age, physical ability, or specific interests.

“We just try to find what they like to do, and we fit them with the people that kind of oversees those different areas in the village,” he said. “The more people get involved, the more things get done in a much faster time. The more people you get, you find out different people have different tools that they can offer … some might be grant writers, some might be people that like to water and take care of the flowers. Some people like to get over and take care of the island. And it’s fun to step back and watch people help the village out like they do.”

Ullman said those interested can follow the B&W GRO Facebook page for more info on how to attend the next meeting or get involved.

“We have postings on there all the time of what’s going on, the different meetings we’ll be having, and the activities that will be coming up and asking for new members, if anybody’s interested,” he said.

Douglass Huxley can be reached at dhuxley@newsandsentinel.com