Focus 2020 subcommittee envisions ‘gateway’ area at Lake Mitchell

A report issued Friday by a local committee envisions Lake Mitchell as a recreation jewel surrounded by well-signed trails and access areas, and anchored by a “gateway” area near the lake’s southeastern point.

Focus 2020’s Lake Mitchell Development Subcommittee issued its report of draft recommendations Friday. The report is the sixth of eight being issued this month by Focus 2020, a volunteer, long-range planning initiative that was announced in September. Each report must be reviewed by Focus 2020’s Coordination Assistance Team before it is finalized.

Mark Puetz, co-chairman of the Lake Mitchell Development Subcommittee, said in an interview Friday that the subcommittee views Lake Mitchell as an underutilized, under-maintained asset.

“We have to ask ourselves as a community how we value the lake,” he said, “and what kind of funds we should be putting toward it.”

Puetz said the four main goals of the subcommittee are to improve the lake’s water quality, surround the lake with a system of recreational trails, improve and better maintain the facilities around the lake, and market the lake so the public knows what recreational opportunities are available.

The subcommittee’s goal to improve water quality in the lake is expressed as a general desire with no specific plan, but the subcommittee wants an improvement within 20 years. At present, the lake is annually besieged by algae blooms.

“Improved water quality will only enhance the perception of the lake as a top-notch recreational destination for local residents and tourists alike,” the report says.

Recreational trails are proposed to be built to the new soccer complex north of the lake within two years, around the east side of the lake within five years and along Indian Village Road within two years. The subcommittee recommends extending a rock or gravel bike trail from North Ohlman Street to the West End Bridge within five years and overlaying it with asphalt within eight years. Extensions of bike trails into residential areas are recommended over the next eight to 20 years.

The subcommittee targeted 14 locations around the lake where facilities should be improved and better maintained. Suggested improvements and additions include beaches, piers, boat ramps, docks, fish-cleaning areas, sidewalks, asphalt parking lots and restrooms.

The focal point is Norm’s Bay, a spot near North Main Street and 23rd Avenue (aka Cemetery Road). The bay’s development is currently limited to a gravel driving loop.

The subcommittee’s proposal would make Norm’s Bay the “Gateway to the Lake.” The plan includes a paved parking area, large signage showing the location of the lake’s recreational opportunities, and nearby access to trails, fishing and canoes.

“The idea is for one major ‘park and ride’ area,” Puetz said. “One place where everybody could go to and look at a map to see all of the different recreation opportunities in and around the lake.”

Plans to market the lake are not specifically laid out in the report, other than a finding that states there is a “lack of marketing and signage to create an awareness of the current and future lake recreation opportunities.”

Puetz put it this way: “We can do all the improvements in the world, but if nobody knows about them, nobody is going to use them.”

The subcommittee’s report lists some possible funding sources but does not list cost estimates. It’s believed that many of the projects could be substantially completed by volunteers.

The subcommittee also recommends that its members replace or be joined with the city’s existing, mayor-appointed Lake Development Committee in order to bring the recommendations to fruition.

Tags: focus 2020, lake mitchell, news