Lake Platte restoration project reaches first $300,000 goal
Oct. 2—PLATTE, S.D. — When organizers for the
Lake Platte restoration project in Platte
put together a fundraising goal of $300,000 to go toward the work, they weren't entirely sure how long it would take to reach their target.
Less than a month in, they have their answer.
"I'm blown away at how generous people have been and how fast we were able to accomplish that in less than a month," said Cole Anderson, a board member with the Platte Development Corporation and a member of the Platte City Council.
The
fundraising web page for the project
Monday morning showed a total of $302,801 from a total of 189 supporters, surpassing the $300,000 goal by over $2,000 in under 30 days of time. The donation list includes individuals, businesses and families as among the contributors, with some making donations in memory of loved ones and some making multiple donations in varying amounts.
It's all part of a concentrated effort to restore Lake Platte to its former state as a gathering and recreational outlet for the community and greater area. The dam at the lake washed out after heavy rains in September of 2019, draining the lake and robbing the next-door community golf course of its prime water source.
The 140-acre lake bed sat unused and overgrown in the years since, but the spot has been a beehive of activity in recent months as a multi-tier repair, dredging and refilling plan has gone into effect. Heavy machinery has been digging out the lakebed, removing sediment and adding deep spots that will hopefully support fish over the winter months and limit the impact of winterkill.
Fundraising has been an vital part of the project, and the community has shown their support by kicking in early and often.
"It's amazing. I just can't believe this area and community and the support so far that we've received on this project. It's unreal to me," said Ken VanZee, mayor of Platte. "I always knew with past projects that this town has gone through and that there was support there if they were behind a project. Just seeing how fast the first $300,000 came in? It's great. It's beyond what I imagined."
In addition to local businesses and families contributing, VanZee noted that many donations are coming from people who long ago left the Platte community but still hold fond memories of the lake and times spent there. The lake, which was constructed as a Works Progress Administration project in the 1930s, is a big part of the community's history and identity, VanZee said.
With the first $300,000 in fundraising now in the books, Anderson said the plan is to continue receiving donations with the goal of doubling the initial contributions for a total of $600,000. The prime conduit for those donations will remain the website at givebutter.com/lakeplatte, but there are other ways for those who are interested to donate.
Anderson said some other donations have been in the form of materials, such as rock for the shoreline, or in time and equipment to haul and place that rock. Farmers in the middle of their harvest season also have the option to donate loads of grain with the proceeds going toward the lake project. Those donations can be arranged through Farmer's Elevator in Platte, Farmer's Co-op Elevator in Geddes or Viterra — formerly known as Gavilon — in Kimball. People can even donate through their IRAs if they prefer.
There is still some work to do on the first phase of the project, but the second phase of the work is expected to start in the next two weeks. That will involve moving dirt along the first and second fairways of the adjacent golf course. Along with that, work to seal the breach that drained the lake in the first place will commence, with efforts continuing through the rest of the fall and perhaps even into the early parts of the winter.
As with the fundraising, physical work at the site has moved along well, despite some ill-timed precipitation that mucked up the lakebed for the earthmoving equipment.
Even with the fast timeline, there is still a lot of work to do, VanZee said. Along with other potential funding sources, the next round of fundraising will help make the next steps possible. Once the project is complete, beautification projects can take over, and development could also be on the horizon, as the city owns the land surrounding the lake.
Anderson said anyone interested in donating rock, the means to haul it or other materials to the project can reach out to him through the Platte Development Corporation Facebook page at
www.facebook.com/plattedevelopmentcorporation.
The
page will also continue to receive donations in the meantime.
