Lake Pacawa development hits second phase
By Brandi Makuski
The second phase of a massive redevelopment project at Lake Pacawa Park will be unveiled on Monday.
The village will also consider whether it should accept a 9.4-acre donation of land from Worzella & Sons, located to the south of the park. In exchange, the village would be responsible for paying 2019 taxes, totaling about $1,100.
Phase 2 of the park remodel involves the construction of parking lots and a walking trail. Play areas, splash pads, new shelters, and fishing piers are also planned.
Village Administrator Dan Mahoney said the entire project will be funded via donations. The village plans to apply a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources grant next May, which would cover about half the cost of phase two—but he added the success of an application often relies on, among other things, securing a big chunk of the funding beforehand.
“We’ll have to fundraise that other 50 percent, whatever it winds up being,” he said. “It’s incredible that folks stepped up to support the project this far, but we have to do future fundraising effectively, and attempt to find new sources.”
If the village’s grant application is approved, construction on the new splash pad could begin in 2021.
The first phase of a large-scale renovation was announced in 2017, with the village raising about $570,000 for a new bandshell that opened last July, just in time for the annual Celebrate Plover event. With grass now growing around the bandshell and plans to pave the cul-de-sac at the park’s south entrance, phase one will soon be complete.
Rettler Corp. will present the phase two master plan during Monday’s parks development committee, held at 5 p.m. in the Plover Municipal Center Board Room, 2400 Post Rd. The public is welcome to attend.
