Small Lake At Glenwood Lake Park Filled With Dirt; Future To Be Determined

There is no longer a second lake or pond at Glenwood Lake Park.

The small body of water situated north of the campground on the west side of the park’s main road has been filled in with dirt  and will eventually provide additional green space for the park.

In May, the Glenwood Park Board and City Council reached an agreement with Mark Hughes Construction to fill the lake with dirt from Hughes’ subdivision construction site along the south side of the 1100 and 1200 blocks of 6th Street. The city is receiving the dirt for no charge but has agreed to pay Mark Hughes Construction up to $15,000 for manpower and the equipment needed for hauling and compacting the dirt.

“Mark wanted to get rid of that dirt. He wanted it moved so everybody benefited, I think,” Glenwood Park Board Chairman Randy Romens said. “When it’s all completed, it (dirt) is probably going to be right up to the top of where the island was in that lake. We’ll keep it mounded - we don’t’ want any place than can collect water.”

Dump trucks, each carrying about 10 cubic yards of dirt, were running regularly from 6th Street to the park for about two weeks. Hughes estimated that a total 7,500 cubic yards of dirt (750 truck loads) would be needed to complete the project. He estimates the dirt’s value at $64,000.

Romens said the dirt will be left to settle at the park this summer and could be seeded for grass later in the year. He said the park board is considering several options for the land.

“Long term, there’s so many different options,” he said. “Do we want to expand the campground? Do we want to put in small cabins? Do we want to put in a dog park? Do want to put in a disc golf course? There are so many different options.”

The lake couldn’t be filled in until the Iowa Department Natural Resources signed off on the project, Romens said.  The DNR wanted to make sure none of the geese that reside at the park were nesting near the pond or that any other endangered species of wildlife would be harmed.

“They came down there and checked it out and made sure that we weren’t going to kill anything,” Romens said. “The protected species crew of the DNR came in and looked. They did a walk-around and made sure that we didn’t have any special frogs or turtles, or anything in there. We were cleared on that.”

Romens said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was also notified of  the project, but didn’t inspect the site because the pond wasn’t a navigable body of water.

Glenwood City Clerk Amber Farnan said filling in the lake has been on the park board’s 5-year plan for several years at the recommendation of the DNR to help control the goose population.