City park nears completion

The Miller Showers contractor is back on the job again, as most people driving past the renovation area between College Avenue and Walnut Street can tell. F.A. Wilhelm Construction took a break during the winter months and waited for warmer weather before returning to complete the final stage of work on the Park. \nThe park project, which has been going on since April 2002, is near completion and only has a few finishing touches left before it is ready to be fully accessed by the public, said Utilities Assistant Director Mike Bengtson.\nBengtson said all the piping work was completed last year and very little is left to do for the Bloomington Utilities Department at the park. \n"The other day, we went in and made some minor adjustments on the surface of the asphalt paths to smooth them out, but other than that, we're pretty much done with the park," Bengtson said. \nOther than a few adjustments, all major excavation work at the site has been declared finished. This includes the completed construction of a storm water and treatment infrastructure designed to trap water in five ponds in order to slow downstream erosion. According to Bloomington Parks and Recreations Director of Operations Dave Williams, the technology also makes use of aquatic plants and underground sediment traps to capture sediments from incoming storm water in order to ensure cleaner water flows out of the park system. \nMost of the work now being done on the park is aesthetically oriented, such as landscaping, gardening and paving. Parks and Recreation Administrator Mick Renneisen said planting and gardening will be carried out over the next month and plans for a new parking lot are also underway. As of now, the department has almost finished grating the lawn area to bring in topsoil and is finishing pavement work on the jogging and biking paths. \nRenneisen said the city has had a plan in place called "The Alternative Transportation and Green Ways," which maps out a system of trails that will all be linked together. This plan has yet to take on its full form but is being developed as the Miller Showers Park comes to completion. \n"We've had a plan for the Miller Showers Park for 20 years," said Renneisen, reflecting upon the massive project. "It was a challenge getting funding and trying to match our timing with other facilities such as utilities." \nTo prevent the new parking lot from blending in with the street, it will be smaller than the old lot it is replacing. This means there will be approximately 17 marked spaces, which may sound small for a nine-acre park that hopes to attract residents and visitors from out of town. This has not yet created any problems or concerns, and for now, the Miller Showers Park is enjoying the final stages of beautifying and refining its landscape. \n-- Contact staff writer Kye Lee at kyelee@indiana.edu.