What's next for Lake Springfield? City wants to hear community ideas for development
Fish habitat? Bumper boats? Giant water slide? Out-of-the-box and even off-the-wall ideas are welcome in the coming months as the city begins planning for the future of Lake Springfield.
"Everything is on the table," said Steve Prange, project manager for the Lake Springfield Plan.
That's the statement Prange, with engineering and consulting firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly, gave to about 100 people sitting in the Springfield Art Museum's auditorium for a kick-off event to capture the community’s vision for the Lake Springfield area.
The Thursday kick-off came two days after Springfield City Council unanimously approved Forward SGF, a new comprehensive plan that lays out the city's future over the next two decades.
Lake Springfield was created in 1957 by damming James River in southeast Springfield to serve the cooling needs of the James River Power Station. The lake and surrounding areas were identified as a redevelopment opportunity area during the city’s Forward SGF comprehensive planning process.
The city of Springfield received $800,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, or EDA, and $200,000 from the Hatch Foundation to start putting together a redevelopment plan for Lake Springfield in early 2022.
More:Springfield City Council adopts Forward SGF, comprehensive plan to guide next 20 years
Along with announcing a public survey, city officials and planners spoke about several options the plan could include, as well as sharing a timeline of when the plans may be implemented.
City wants plan for Lake Springfield completed by summer 2024
In between introducing team members and explaining how the planning process started, Senior Planner Oliva Hough reminded the crowd and viewers watching a livestream that the James River Power Station, although decommissioned in 2020, continues to be a secure facility that City Utilities operates with "high voltage and other hazards present."
Over the past two years, Hough said the city planning department worked with the community to start developing the next comprehensive plan, which turned out to be Forward SGF.
"Now, we are ready to move on to the implementation of that plan," Hough said.
The Lake Springfield Plan is slated to be completed by summer 2024. More reports and analysis will also hopefully be ready by February 2023 to share with the community, Hough added.
More:65 years of history gone in mere seconds: Detonation takes down stacks at Springfield power plant
Project manager Prange thanked the crowd for attending and said community engagement is a big piece of the overall plan.
"We want your involvement," he said. "It's so key that you're involved. The community stakeholders are involved. The different agencies are involved."
Prange listed the planning goals as:
Attracting innovative economic development and resilient job creation within the study area that complements regional vision and priorities;
Developing a strategy for sustainable water quality and green infrastructure improvements;
Establishing an adaptive reuse strategy for the James River Power Station;
Focusing on transportation enhancements that are accessible and equitable to Lake Springfield and surrounding communities;
Embracing active and passive recreational opportunities as a regional economic development catalyst;
Engaging the community in a way that is inclusive of a diverse and multi-cultural perspective.
"We need everybody to enjoy the uses we envision Lake Springfield to be, and that's really important," Prange said. "It's 1,000 acres — 1,000 acres is a massive amount of land that includes the lake and the watershed of the James River."
Major pieces being studied are the Lake Springfield dam, which rests in the middle of the James River watershed, and the power station itself, which was "built like a rock," Prange said.
City Utilities CEO Gary Gibson said he is excited to see what the future holds for the Lake Springfield area.
"And, I really want to take the blinders off because I'd really love to hear what some of those innovative ideas are that we probably haven't even thought of today that can really make this a destination on the south side of town and an economic driver," Gibson said about folks sharing their input.
Visit https://lakesgfplan.com/ to learn more and participate in the survey.
Sara Karnes is an Outdoors Reporter with the Springfield News-Leader. Follow along with her adventures on Twitter and Instagram @Sara_Karnes. Got a story to tell? Email her at skarnes@springfi.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: City making plan for Lake Springfield after power plant decommissioned
