Galesburg residents say Lake Storey improvements ignored, provide list of concerns

GALESBURG — Russ Nelson walks or fishes at Lake Storey almost every other day. Whenever his children and grandchildren visit, he brings them to the public park to build memories there.

That is why Nelson, who believes the lake has become “kind of ignored” by the city, has helped organize a group of local residents who want to see the facilities be improved.

A list of concerns from the group highlights, among other things, “dilapidating asphalt” on the northside trail, beach retaining walls that are “falling apart” and how to make the pavilion pull more events and reservations.

“I think what we're going to try to do is talk about the pavilion to where it's being managed and marketed because right now it's hardly being used,” Nelson said. “And the beach needs sand, there's no sand. You'd get road rash if one of your kids fell on it right now.”

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Mayor Peter Schwartzman said he supported the council's vote not to expand Lake Storey in 2021. But he believed that the lake deserved a “closer look” in terms of cleaning up both the water and wooded areas.

Schwartzman also said it’s important to ensure that the lake is accessible and people in the city have safe pathways to reach it, which could help Galesburg when it comes to tourism.

“I mean I'll say up front, the lake is an amazing facility for a city of our size, and it has a lot of amenities already and a lot of great events are held there,” Schwartzman said. “But realistically, it is underutilized and it isn't as big of an attractor as it could be.”

Seventh Ward City Council Member Larry Cox, who worked for the city’s public works department for 15 years when Lake Storey was still under public works’ jurisdiction, said it depends on your perspective whether the park had been ignored but that there are areas in need of upgrades.

Cox said there are trails and bridges that should be widened, the water slide should come down and the boat ramps could use work — but these changes cost money.

“I wouldn't say it's been ignored but I would say a lot more investment could be made in Lake Storey and the parks,” Cox said. “There's a long list of capital and maintenance items that haven't been funded just because there hasn't been money available in the budget.”

Cox said he thought more people would use Lake Storey if more improvements were made to the park. A park, he said, that can have a big draw from the region because of its size.

But as to why the park hasn’t seen as much funding, Cox said it hasn’t been prioritized in the city budget in recent years.

“Everyone tries to keep tax increases to a minimum and there's lots of pressure on the budget for new police officers, new firefighters, street improvements, there's all kinds of gives and takes to get the budget balanced,” Cox said. “So it's just one of those things that hasn't been the highest priority to get funded.”

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Only 27% participate in recreational programming

The most recent Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which was adopted by the city in 2019, names a “lack of long-term funding” at the top of its list of issues.

The list also names “insufficient staffing,” “lack of marketing and promotion,” “lack of community events," "access to transportation to parks and recreation facilities" and “insufficient facilities and programs for youth particularly lower-income populations."

The document records that maintenance of drinking fountains and restroom cleanliness received the most dissatisfaction from respondents and that the three largest barriers to people participating in parks or programs were program fees, an unawareness to what the city offered and an unawareness to what time programs were being offered.

Water quality poor, but swimmable

For more context on the current state of the Lake Storey grounds, Nelson’s group brought a list of questions to Schwartzman who had their inquiries answered by director of public works Wayne Carl and former director of parks and recreation Tony Oligney-Estill.

In the email, Oligney-Estill affirmed that the lake water is swimmable and is tested every two weeks when it is open for swimming during the summer season. The primary cause of the lake’s poor water quality, Oligney-Estill wrote, is chemical runoff from nearby farmlands and geese feces.

On the subject of lifeguard staffing, Oligney-Estill said he recommended the beach stop being guarded back in 2016 and that if the city were to bring back lifeguarding, it should be guarded seven days a week which would require 15-30 more lifeguards and $175,000 or more in funding.

On the status of the Lake Storey trail project, which would “close the loop” and connect the north and south side trails at the park, Carl wrote that construction is tentatively planned for the summer of 2023.

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Recent improvements made to lake, campground

Despite current concerns, the city has made improvements to the lake and campground in recent years.

Oligney-Estill wrote that the west bathrooms at the campgrounds were replaced in 2020, kayak launches were added in 2021 and parts of Lake Storey’s existing bike path was widened in 2021. The dam’s spillway was also reconstructed in 2012 and the drawdown valves were replaced in 2020, Carl wrote.

The city announced on April 19 that Oligney-Estill was leaving his position as the parks director in order to accept a job with the Galesburg Police Department. Former recreation supervisor Elizabeth Varner has stepped in to become the interim director of parks and recreation.

Varner said that she has nothing but good things to say about Lake Storey and that the low use of the Pavilion could be attributed to the pandemic.

But now that restrictions have lifted and people may be more comfortable gathering in groups, Varner expects to see a steady increase in reservations, as the venue has already hosted four private rentals and three programs in the past month and more are scheduled for May.

Varner said there have been improvements made to the city’s parks, such as new playgrounds and pickle ball courts and that she hopes to learn from others about what more improvements can be made moving forward.

But as a whole, Varner affirmed that Lake Storey is a “tremendous resource” for the people of Galesburg.

“I think Galesburg is really fortunate to have what they have and I don't think everyone is aware of what the resources are that are out there,” Varner said. “One of my highlights is just walking around and seeing the wildlife that's out there, the blue herons that are out there."

"If you just go out and look and experience it, you'll see what we have.”

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Galesburg IL concerned citizens: Lake Storey improvements ignored