Jaycee Park lake treatment earning rave reviews

File photo

Recent treatment of the lake at Jaycee Park for algae and duckweed has received rave reviews, the Greencastle Park Board was told at its September meeting.

“The lake is completely different,” Park Director Greg Ruark said, indicating it is algae- and duckweed-free for the first time in years.

“People are stopping our staff while they’re out there mowing and telling them, ‘This is the best this lake’s ever looked.’”

The $2,400 chemical treatment, administered by Shane Floyd, director of Hanum Wagle and Cline’s (HWC) Water and Land Resources division, is just the first step toward revitalization of Jaycee Park, a 22-acre property that sits outside city limits along the back side of Putnam County Regional Airport.

HWC would like to treat the lake 10 times a year at a cost of $800 a month, Ruark said, adding that there was no urgency to make an immediate decision on that idea.

Starting the monthly treatments next March would be an ideal timetable, Ruark added.

The lake was treated four times during July, Ruark said, and “at the end of the first week you could tell a difference,” he noted.

The Jaycee Park lake “hadn’t been treated since I’ve been here,” added Assistant Director Chrysta Snellenberger, who joined the Parks and Recreation Department in 2019.

Meanwhile, Ruark said he has not heard a decision from Rose-Hulman Institute engineering students yet on whether they have chosen Jaycee Park for a renovation project. The students, who just recently returned to class, are in the midst of selecting their year-long projects, he said.

The old Jaycees building, constructed in the 1970s by the Greencastle Jaycees and turned over to the city with the property when the Jaycees disbanded, has long been in disrepair with a water problem taking out some interior walls and requiring removal of restrooms facilities, leaving use of a port-a-potty as the only option at the park. Demolition of the building and rebuilding is a possibility for the project.

One idea Rose students have presented includes a way to get people, particularly those in wheelchairs, from the parking lot down to the fishing area. Creation of a pier, possibly even covered, is one idea.

Ruark said the professor involved has indicated the Greencastle project has a good chance to be selected.

Meanwhile, Mayor Bill Dory pointed out that the Jaycee Park dam will be inspected for possible damage by city officials later this fall. The dam was previously inspected by the Department of Natural Resources every two years. DNR last did a physical site visit in 2020 or 2021, Dory said, but no one has that report. Board members seemed surprised to learn there is a dam at Jaycee Park but Dory noted that the driveway is actually the dam, while the “dip in the road is the emergency spillway.”

In another Jaycee Park activity, Lori Mitchell of the Putnam County Recovery Coalition asked for permission to conduct a clean-up day at the park in conjunction with the Mobilized Recovery Day of Service program.

Volunteers will gather at Jaycee Park from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 30, Mitchell said. The idea is ”to bring people together in recovery and seeking recovery to show they are a vital part of the community, not just somebody who’s been on drugs.”

Permission for the event was grant unanimously on a motion from board President Cathy Merrell.

In other business, the Park Board:

-- Was introduced to new recreation coordinator Ashley Crady, who was in charge of the SPARK program this summer. She said she hopes to enhance recreational programming and create a lot more opportunities for people to enjoy the city’s parks. Crady is working on an Oct. 28 Boo Bash event on the aquatic center parking lot. Businesses and organizations are being invited to set up booths for the 4-7 p.m. event, along with food trucks, a coffee truck and possibly a photo booth and a hayride included.

-- Learned that Assistant Park Director Snellenberger will take over maintenance duties in the aftermath of the departure of longtime Park Maintenance Director David Bault.

-- Learned that Three Kings Electric was called upon for a $2,730 job to replace a number of lights at the Robe-Ann Park softball diamond. At some point, Ruark said, he hopes to get LED lighting for the diamond but noted that involves a cost “well into five figures.”

-- Heard Ruark report that Marsee’s Tree Service took down two dying trees at Robe-Ann Park at a cost of $5,000. One was near the park office, while the other was along the old Anderson Street entrance where people had been parking cars until no-parking signs were put up. Prior to the tree removal, a large limb fell, Ruark said, exactly where cars would have been parked.

-- Gave Greencastle High School senior Maddie Landry permission to conduct a 5K run/walk at Big Walnut Sports Park on Saturday, Sept. 30, beginning at 10 a.m. Proceeds will be used to cover the cost of CPR courses and AED defibrillators for the high school. Board member Doug Hutchison noted that organizers should provide someone to monitor where the roadways and pathways cross due to that being a major soccer Saturday at Big Walnut.

-- Heard Ruark report that Wally’s Barbecue will be in the park to provide food during a pickleball tournament Saturday, Sept. 30 (rain date is Oct. 1).

-- Head Ruark report that a broken drain tile, caused by tree roots, flooded an area between fields at Big Walnut recently. About 570 feet of corrugated plastic tile was damaged. Surface water is unable to flow because of the broken tile, which carries water away from the football field and others to an open ditch, being clogged by the tree roots. Mayor Dory suggested looking into using a section of solid pipe to prevent tree roots from interfering in the future.

Board members Merrell and Hutchison were joined for the September meeting by Joanna Muncie. Tim Trigg was absent.

The Park Board will next meet in regular session at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4 at the Robe-Ann Park office.