Chesterton Park Superintendent Tyler McLead was delighted to announce at the Town Council’s meeting Monday night, Sept. 23, that the pond enhancement project at Coffee Creek Park has been completed.
“It’s a good project for Coffee Creek Park,” McLead said after the meeting. “It makes the pond more accessible than it’s ever been. The piers will be a nice place to throw a line in, maybe have lunch or read a book or just watch the wildlife. I’ve also seen a few people already relaxing on the outcropping. I’m very happy with the way it’s turned out.”
The project—partially funded with a 50/50 grant awarded to the Park Department by the Lake Michigan Coastal Program—features three overlooks/piers constructed on the north, west, and south sides of the pond, with a semicircular aggregate trail connecting them; and a limestone outcropping at the southwest corner.
In addition, a generous donation of $10,000 by the Crumpacker Memorial Charitable Fund will be used to purchase benches to be placed on some of the overlooks/piers and along the trail, as well as interpretive signage for the identification of trees and other vegetation.
At 8:55 a.m. today, Wednesday, Sept. 25, on a purely lovely morning on the water, an angler who’d made herself comfortable in a camp chair on the south overlook was busy untangling her line after snagging (and releasing) a snapping turtle. “The piers are great,” she said. “They did a really good job.”
McLead did take a moment to thank everyone who made the project possible. “I’m grateful to the Lake Michigan Coastal Program for its grant and to the Crumpacker Memorial Charitable Foundation for its donation,” he said. “Projects of this quality are extremely hard to undertake without outside funding. The Park Board authorized this project, was fully involved throughout the process, and I appreciate the care members took in the planning. SEH Inc. provided an excellent design and Berglund Construction executed it professionally.”
McLead added that he’ll be proposing a number of new projects to the Park Board at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 1, with a view to applying for another Lake Michigan Coastal Program grant.