Huntingburg getting new playground

Huntingburg’s newest park may not have splashes or sprinkles but it does have a large amount of water nearby.

In efforts to make Huntingburg Lake a more attractive area to visit the Huntingburg Utilities Department has slowly been adding amenities over the past few years.

The department added two shelter houses to the north side of the lake, accessible from Highway 64. One is near the entrance to the water treatment plant and the newest is at the boat ramp. Other improvements include making the dock and shelterhouse wheelchair accessible and paving the parking lot of the ramp area.

Recently the department added three new benches and an adult swing along the shoreline and have started laying the foundation for a small playground area near the new shelterhouse.

According to Utilities Superintendent Tony Traylor, the drought has allowed the department to remove invasive weeds along the shoreline. With the removal of the weeds they wanted to add the benches for people to sit at to fish or just enjoy the view. Traylor said the idea was based on his own passion for improving the quality of life in Huntingburg. “It’s just one thing I do have control over since the Water Utility owns the property.”

At the mayor’s recent listening sessions the under-utilization of the lake was brought up. Traylor approached Mayor Denny Spinner for approval to add the playground before the sessions. “I felt it was a good idea,” Mayor Spinner said. “We heard from our community conversations that Huntingburg Lake was one of those underutilized assets the city has and we heard this is something the public would like to see. This is a small step in that direction to test the water and see if the public responds to it positively.”

Construction has already begun on the small playground area which could feature several play structures designed for kids. Traylor said they are going to watch the usage of the playground before adding more structures. “We just want to see how it is going to be used,” Traylor said. “The plan is to have maybe five pieces of equipment out there. The size of the area we are building allows us to add those toys if it does get used.”

The equipment and improvements are being paid for from the Operation and Maintenance Fund for the Water Utility. The cost of the benches and their installation totaled about $3400 and the new play piece is $3981. Traylor doesn’t have the totals for the cost of the labor on the project but stated he is having it built to last a long time. “It’s going to be low maintenance. Instead of having a wood border or plastic that will warp in the sun we decided to go with a concrete border,” he said.

Councilwoman Linda Summers stated she had concerns about adding these features to the lake using the Water Utility Operation and Maintenance Fund. She pointed out the city is currently pursuing a grant to dredge the lake and a major water line is in need of repairs and the money could be used for those projects. “I think we need to be careful what we do out there, it’s are water supply,” Summers said, “we proved how important it is this summer when Patoka (Water and Sewer) asked us to increase our output to help them out.”

Traylor stated the mayor approved the project and the cost is a small compared to the cost of the dredging. “That’s (dredging) at least a $500,000 project,” he said. “You know we (the city) doesn’t really have anything on the west side of the city and the people are already coming out there, so we thought it would be nice to give them something to do.”

In addition to these improvements the city will be planting six pin oaks along the shoreline in October. “Buschkoetters (Nursery, Lawn and Garden Center) said they would work there really well,” Traylor explained. “The trees are going to be 15 to 18 feet tall; mature enough we won’t have to stake them up.”

In addition to the new amenities Traylor is researching ways to repair areas on the dam where rodents have burrowed into the bank causing collapses. These areas are normally underwater but with the drought, Traylor’s crews can access them.

“I just want to see more people visiting the lake,” he said. “I think it’s under-utilized and I just want people to know it’s available. I would like to see pictures on the website next spring when it’s done so people will be more aware of what we offer.”

The first playground piece should be installed in October.