The Urbana Park District has gained community support and interest for its lake rehabilitation program.

By Peggy Kinkade

Crystal Lake Park, the oldest park in the Urbana Park District, has long been a community focal point. The park features many highlights including a seven acre man-made lake created at the turn of the century.

Crystal Lake, originally an oxbow of the Saline Creek, was known for its clarity and pleasant surroundings. However, the years have been unkind to the lake. Affected by siltation and runoff, it became cloudy and murky.

Massive rehabilitation

In order to correct the effects of erosion and restore the aesthetics and recreational opportunities in the park, the park district began one of its largest rehabilitation projects. With funding from accumulated bond funds and a grant from the federal Land and Water Conservation Program, the district endeavored to remove (and relocate) 50,000 cubic feet of sediment and stabilize the shoreline.

The 18-month project is well underway, and the public response has been favorable despite heavy trucks loaded with fill rumbling through town. This response was not spontaneous; it was cultivated by the park district through careful planning and community cooperation.

Communication is essential to the projects success.

Public awareness

During project planning, the district worked closely with city and area officials to minimize negative effects and lay the foundation for increased public awareness. The local media were introduced to the project through public meetings, press releases and personal contact with park district staff.

The project site lies in a high visibility area. Its proximity to a major thoroughfare, a public housing facility and the district's swimming pool complex has stirred public interest.

To capitalize on this interest, the district erected large informational signs explaining the rehabilitation process. The text encourages community residents to "watch our progress" according to a checklist on the sign. Small wooden check marks were designed to be fastened to the sign as each phase is completed.

This sign concept facilitates the public's understanding of a technical project. It also heightens the sense of anticipation as the rehabilitation

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project nears completion. To correspond with the text, "Life. Be In It." characters participating in a variety of activities are depicted across the bottom of the sign. This serves as a humorous, visual reminder of the project's benefits.

Interesting background

The lake itself has a colorful history. For many years, it was the social spot in Urbana. In recent years, duckweed has flourished in various areas. This growth spurred local tales of "green slime monsters" and ominous indications of what may be discovered when the lake was drained. This sense of intrigue heightened public interest and, thus, media coverage of the lake project.

Fortunately, the draining of Crystal Lake was not akin to opening Pandora's box. No skeletons or smoking guns were found. However, a safe was.

Excitement rose as inspection indicated the safe had not been opened — by the door, that is. When the safe was flipped over, a large hole was discovered. Local investigators have not been able to discover where the safe came from and to whom it belonged.

This "discovery" generated two feature stories in the local newspaper and television coverage. Another story will run if the mystery of the Crystal Lake safe is solved.

Special communication

In addition to local media coverage, the park district has kept the public current on the progress of the lake project through in-house publications distributed to all district residents. In-depth stories and shorter feature pieces have been published in program brochures and newsletters. The stories generally include a telephone number the reader may use to request additional information.

The park district has endeavored

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to keep civic groups, area residents and neighborhood representatives informed about the lake project. Recently, district staff accompanied board members and volunteers on a tour of the park and project site. This provided the opportunity to review the progress of the project and discuss the project with staff.

Additional benefits

Other opportunities have been incorporated into the Crystal Lake rehabilitation project. Community volunteers serving on the Urbana Park District Advisory Committee (UPDAC) regularly make suggestions about this, and other projects, to the park board.

The entire rehabilitation project has been recorded on film. These pictures will be the foundation of a project slide show for school and civic groups. This outreach effort is designed to peak the interest of young and old alike.

A final public awareness effort is the grand reopening gala for Crystal Lake. Volunteers and community leaders are working with the Urbana Park District staff to plan a free community celebration tor next fall.

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