It’s been a busy May and I haven’t had time to comment much on the lakefront development ideas out there but I finally got a little time this morning, so here we go!  I went to the last meeting earlier this month.  I missed some of the meeting but I did get to take an up-close and personal look at the plans and hear some of the discussion.

It’s down to two plans, the Arboretum Village and the Adventure Fitness Concept.  Both plans have residential development, however the arboretum has considerably more residential development to help finance the project, since the gardens wouldn’t be a big money generator.  This includes two-story residential units with parking underneath; each would contain 4 units per building.  Four 8-10 story apartment building would be constructed.  The adventure plan would have two 3 story residential/commercial buildings in the core of Nelson Park.  Chandler Park would feature a 3-story residential village.  A pond would be created in the center of the village but not connected to the lake.  Both plans feature an indoor/outdoor waterpark, wave pool and an expanded 36 hole mini-golf course,  however the adventure plan also calls for a white water rapids course, climbing walls, boardwalk with outdoor dining, cross country race course, urban mountain biking/running trails and a high rope course.

After looking over the plans, I think the adventure concept is superior in many ways.  One, it has the potential to truly generate considerable income for the city.  Its attractions would be more likely to draw visitors from the Midwest.  A more passive, conservative plan will have to rely much more on residential development, which I’m still not crazy about.  To me, Nelson Park will always be a park and its purpose should be to improve the quality of life for all Decatur residents – not just those who can afford to purchase a home along its shores or purchase a boat to enjoy an upgraded marina.  I want to be able to park, get out of my car and walk along a public shore on public land or a public boardwalk. So much of the lake is already residential.  I don’t see the need for more unless it caters to people of more modest incomes of all ages.

Something that greatly concerns me about either plan is that the only parts that are sure to be completed are the residential development.  Decatur was promised a water park before.  We paid for a road to help facilitate such a project that never materialized.  Call me skeptical but Decatur’s been burned before.  I want it in writing that before any residential development can take place it has to coincide with the construction of other project plans – especially the water park.  No phased stages that may never happen.  All or nothing and all at once.  I can live with a modest tax increase if that will ensure the entire plan approved materializes in a timely manner.

That being said, I am very much excited about the adventure-fitness concept.  It looks wonderful!  If I lived in another city and saw a brochure for Decatur with such attractions, I’d be paying Decatur a visit.  It pushes much of the residential development to Chandler Park, which currently isn’t utilized much by the public.  The other residential features in the Nelson Park area are more acceptable to me.

Take a look at the plans and don’t forget to send your comments and suggestions to the lakefront team!

Adventure-Fitness

Arboretum-Village Concept

I’ve been busy planning our big vacation for this Fall. It involves plane tickets, passports, and a big ship heading to the Bahamas. This is all foreign territory for me. I’ve never been on a plane, never had a passport and never been on the ocean. The only foreign country I’ve visited is Canada – though it really didn’t feel so foreign. I’ve traveled for thousands and thousands of miles with my parents to the Rocky Mountains, been in the most desolate of places in the wilderness, on horseback with grizzly bears crossing my path, riding on winding roads through mountainous landscapes and spent many, many hours inside tourist traps. At least back then most of the items were still made in the USA. Now you know how old I am.

But my favorite destination has to be Big Trade Lake in Wisconsin. My parents, two older brothers and I, along with my parents’ best friends and their five kids spent two weeks there every July. My dad had a 1970 Chevy pickup with a truck camper and a Jon boat. My first trip to Wisconsin was when I was four years old and the last when I was sixteen.

The campground was situated on a small, narrow peninsula on the lake. Cedar trees lined the shores and filled the air with their glorious scent. A natural spring provided fresh, cold drinking water – the best water I’ve ever had. The fishing was great. Nobody ever went back skunked.

There’s a lot of funny memories of our vacations at the lake but the parts I remember most were the preparation and the traveling. Before 51 was a four-lane highway to Bloomington, that stretch of road was the worst part of the whole trip. It was often bumper to bumper. We had the misfortune of being stuck behind a pig farmer in a beater pickup from Clinton to Bloomington on one trip. We couldn’t pass because the oncoming traffic never let up. 30 miles an hour for 30 miles was enough to send anyone over the edge. Thank goodness we could close off the window from the truck to the camper once my dad became more and more perturbed. It was probably after this trip that my parents decided to travel at night.

We’d leave at midnight, after my dad came home from Caterpillar and our friends met us from Taylorville. Our friends often went over-prepared and often arrived late. They had the same size boat as us but it was loaded down with so many supplies, the trailer nearly buckled from the weight. One time, they had packed two cases of pork and beans. My dad got a laugh out of it and told them, if they ran out of gas between stations, they’d be prepared!

My mom cleaned the house from top to bottom and inside and out before our trips. She ran in and out of the front door carrying this and carrying that, often times nearing her breaking point. We knew to steer clear and do what we were told – even if cleaning a house that would sit empty for two weeks, didn’t seem to make any sense. I never knew what the big deal was. It was a vacation. It was supposed to be fun. Now that I have to make the vacation plans, I completely understand and when I come back from a vacation, the last thing I want to do is come home to a dirty house.

I’d lie down in the camper and try to fall asleep but usually never managed to. My hamster inside its cage rode next to me. She tried to run on her wheel but that didn’t work out too well along the bumpy highways. By dawn we’d be in Wisconsin. The hills, trees and rocks amazed me. Growing up in Decatur, I hadn’t had much experience with hills, miles of forest or really big rocks. They intrigued me. They still do!

But there’s something about packing up your life, even temporarily, and heading for some distant place that fries the mind. It’s adventurous but kind of scary at the same time. It’s not as if there aren’t Wal-Mart’s in every state, just in case you forget to pack your socks and underwear. You’re not going to skin a deer for clothing or stitch together fig leaves for your undergarments. Civilization is widespread but it just feels weird to buy underwear outside your home town.

Just a reminder that another lakefront meeting is scheduled for tonight:

Tuesday, May 11
6:15 p.m.
Scovill Golf Course Banquet Center (3909 W. Main St.)

More details will be given about specific proposed plans for Lake Decatur.  I’m interested to see what escaped the chopping block.  I hope I like what I see.