Lakeside Park Plans Take Shape
Centerville Park Opening Planned For Late July
Imagine water gently flowing from a lazy spring past families enjoying a sun-splashed barbeque picnic on a beautiful summer afternoon.
Imagine children playing on swings as their parents relax under the shade cast by a brand new pavilion. Imagine friends getting together to take a walk while enjoying landscaped views of one of Minnesota's characteristic lakes.
If all goes according to plan, these visions could become realities in Centerville, and a whole lot sooner than one might think. A new park will be constructed at 1601 LaMotte Drive, and the city's hope is that it will be completed in time for Centerville's Sesquicentennial celebration at the end of July.
On March 14, Parks & Recreation Committee Vice-Chairperson Kevin Amundsen presented the Centerville City Council with the committee's proposed plans for the as-yet-unnamed park. The plans include the construction of a "rain garden," complete with the aforementioned spring, and also involve the installation of swings, grills, and two shelters, each with four picnic tables.
Amundsen told the council that, instead of being a child-focused entertainment park, "this will be a park to rest at as you walk around the lake."
"Hidden Spring" has been proposed as the park's name, but the official naming has been tabled until staff can determine whether the small spring on the property will generate enough flow to propel a small stream from the park into the Centerville Lake.
Despite the cheery tone of Amundsen's presentation, he acknowledged that numerous issues needed to be dealt with before the park's planned opening in late July.
For instance, Amundsen noted that many trees on the property are dead on top but sprouting from the bottom, which not only creates an unsightly appearance but also results in dead branches falling from the top of the trees onto the ground. Such trees will have to be removed in order to make the park safe for the public.
Amundsen also noted that the lake shoreline presents a challenge for park planners. Shoreline erosion is a problem, which means that some type of material will have to be placed on the shoreline in order to improve the lake's appearance and serve as a buffer between land and water.
"We are aiming to create a conservation setting on the lake-front - there will be no sand, no beach," he said.
Plans for the park are also complicated by the fact that 1601 LaMotte Drive is located near the St. Paul Waterworks Pumphouse.
Plans call for lilacs to be planted between the park and the pumphouse to screen the still-active facility from public view.
Things will have to happen quickly. "We are really on a tight timeline to get this finished by July 20," said City Engineer Mark Statz.Even if the park can't be completed in its entirety by the end of July, Amundsen hopes that people will at least be able to enjoy parts of the park this year.
"We want picnic tables and grills up this year, so you can at least walk in and enjoy the lake and the view this year," he said.
Regardless of how much is done between now and July, Amundsen told the council that it will be a number of years before the natural environment of the park develops into its mature form.
"It's not going to look beautiful the first year - it takes three or four years for it to look really, really nice," he said, citing the fact that it takes at least two or three years for a rain garden to develop and fill out.