CADIZ — Cadiz Village Council recently approved a multi-step project that will expand the number of campsites at Sally Buffalo Park.

In an effort to increase revenue for the park and allow for space for additional campers, the village has decided to move forward with a three-phase project. Village Administrator Bradon Ludwig said council approved the project during Thursday’s meeting.

Ludwig said the first phase will add six to 10 additional campsites in the lower area of the campground near the lake.

“We’re going to be moving some campers around and adding in campsites, offering seasonal and daily camping spots,” he said.

“… That area of the campground currently has four campers in it. We’ll be moving those campers in different directions to create more spots and then adding new spots on ground that we’ve identified as a camping area. We’ll also be adding two lake spots — one will be seasonal and one will be daily.”

The addition to revenue the new spots will provide will allow the village to continue to make improvements to the park, he said.

The initial phase is set to be completed before the opening of the season, which begins April 1.

Ludwig said the second phase of the project involves installing water and electricity to an Ohio Department of Natural Resources reclamation site in the park, while the third phase will include building 48 new campsites on the roughly 10-20 acre property.

The site is located between the new office and the barn. He said the area is located below the field on the left side of the road as you drive toward the barn, near the baseball fields.

Ludwig said the sites will include more space than the park’s current sites and will have 50-amp electrical hookups.

“The goal is to eventually get the entire park, every site, to 50 amps,” he said, adding that currently the majority of hookups are 30 amps.

The larger the camper vehicle, the more amps required to sufficiently operate it at full scale.

Phase two is anticipated to be completed in late summer to early fall. Ludwig said phase three’s completion will depend on if the village is able to secure funding, though officials intend to have it completed within two years.

Ludwig said council also approved constructing a new recreation area at the park.

“When the school (Harrison Hills City School District) built the new baseball field, they tore out the basketball courts that were behind the baseball field and one of the promises from council was to replace those so we’ll be replacing it with a new rec area,” he said.

The project will include multiple phases with the first being the installation of a new basketball court, tennis court and pickleball court inside the tennis court. Ludwig said the village plans to start the initial phase in March.

The village plans to apply for up to a $50,000 grant through T-Mobile as well as for funding through ODNR’s NatureWorks grant program.

Council next meets at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at the municipal building, located at 128 Court St.