By Al Stanek
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
The Whitewater Common Council continues to search for options regarding attempts to complete the dredging of its two downtown area lakes. Council members were told at the December 7 meeting that as many as four area contractors have been, or will soon be, engaged in discussions regarding how the project could proceed.
Bids to dredge the two lakes which have been nearly completely drawn down came in well above the reported project budget of $1.5 million last month. One bid was just under $2.5 million and another just over $3.8 million and the council voted to reject both bids.
Both the 70 acre Cravath Lake across from Whitewater’s City Hall and the 121 acre Trippe Lake on the city’s eastside have been drawn down over the past two years with the goal of making them cleaner and deeper. Trippe Lake at one time had an active swimming beach with a high dive and Cravath up until recently featured water ski shows. Over decades they have filled in with silt and been taken over by invasive plant species that make them unusable for recreational purposes.
City Parks and Recreation Director Eric Boettcher told Common Council members that some mowing and potential spraying of the remaining lakes’ weed beds may take place next week while they evaluate other alternatives which will include a controlled burn of the remaining plant species. (Please see the memo below for an update on the burn.)
The ultimate fate of the project remains an open question. Options range from doing nothing, a partial dredging, or simply allowing the lakes to fill back in without dredging. Common Council member Greg Majkrzak II (pronounced “my shock”) asked Boettcher to do a tally of expenses so far on the project and report back to the Common Council at their December 21 meeting.
In other business the Common Council rejected a city staff recommendation to use city funds for expanding to 32 feet the only 24 foot wide required driveway for an apartment project currently under construction on Tratt Street at Walton Drive. City Director of Public Works Brad Marquardt explained that long range plans call for a roadway connection from the UW Whitewater area west and south back to connect with Main Street will require the wider street and by the city agreeing to pay the difference in cost between 24 feet and 32 feet now while the driveway is under construction makes sense and ultimately saves city money.
The recommendation was opposed by a group of rental property owners who said the advance improvement amounted to a subsidy to the current project developers. City staff cited several similar, but not identical, cases of city participation in development infrastructure costs but a majority of Common Council members voted to reject the roadway expansion recommendation although ultimately all the members voted in favor of using city funds to extend the storm sewer and public water main to the edge of the property to facilitate eventual looping of the water main in the area as well as future development.
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Banner note: The following was posted on the City website on December 9.
December 9, 2021
Dear City of Whitewater residents,
Between December 13 to December 23, Field & Stream Restorations will conduct prescribed burns on the two lake beds, Trippe and Cravath. The purpose of the burn is to prepare for the dredging that may occur in 2022 and the subsequent lake refilling. Prescribed burning is an excellent tool for reducing above-ground biomass (plant material).
We will start by creating burn breaks (unburnable strips on the ground) around the burn units. In some cases this may involve mowing and raking vegetation to create nearly bare soil conditions. We will examine the wind direction and speed to determine the best and safest ignition pattern.
Field & Stream Restorations is insured and has burned hundreds of acres safely, and will do so at this site. We employ nationally trained firefighters. We will be equipped with several types of mobile water sources for fire suppression, including water backpacks , UTV’s, and ATV’s with mounted sprayers. At no time should you ever feel that your residence is at risk. We have examined the site and have determined that the necessary fire breaks can be created to burn safely.
For those who live near the lake, on the day of the burn we ask that you do the following for us:
- Close your windows and doors when not at home and the day of the burn so that smoke does not enter your home.
- Allow us to do our work uninterrupted; distractions to fire spotters create unnecessary risks.
- Approach us before you call the fire department.
For more information, call, text, or email Steve Banovetz, Senior Scientist, Field & Stream Restorations, 608-320-2338 or steveb@fs-restorations.com Please also visit the Field and Stream Restorations website. For additional questions, contact Parks and Recreation Director, Eric Boettcher 262-473-0122 or eboettcher@whitewater-wi.gov
