‘Final filter’ being done at McKinley Lake

Over the course of 12 years and $2.3 million, improvements in McKinley Park have nearly returned it to being the “gem of southwest Iowa.”

The park once contained run-down restroom facilities and a Civil War soldier statue overrun by weeds.

Now, McKinley Park features new restroom facilities, a large maintenance shop, walking trail, skateboard park and disc golf course.

And that Civil War soldier statue overrun by weeds? It’s now the centerpiece of the memorial gardens.

“There wasn’t a restroom out there worth using. Our shop was total garbage. No walking trail. Everything was dilapidated. It was in shambles,” Creston Park and Recreation Board Chairman John Kawa said. “They used to call it the gem of southwest Iowa, and it will be that again.”

‘Final filter’

So, after 12 years of making improvements to the park, the Creston Park and Recreation department is finally moving into the final phase of park improvements.

It’s what Kawa calls the “final filter,” and it includes filtering the water that runs into McKinley Lake via Hurley Creek.

In doing so, the water in McKinley Lake will be clean, which will allow the board to go after various grants to continue improvements to the lake and park.

Creston Park and Recreation is working on the north side of Adams Street. A pond will be built next to the walking trail. Sediment that comes out of Hurley Creek will dump into that pond.

The pond will be cleanable, meaning a backhoe will be able to go in and clean out debris. Meanwhile, liner and rock will be placed in Hurley Creek, and every once in awhile, a bump will be placed in the creek, catching any extra debris.

“The theory is by the time (water) gets to McKinley Lake, it’s 90 percent clean water,” Kawa said. “There will be plants in there that are good for the water and environment.”

Many of the old trees in that area of Hurley Creek north of Adams Street will be taken out, but Kawa said there will be new plantings that bloom placed in the area and that it will still be a wetland.

Work is currently being done on phase one of the project, which includes the sediment pond and work on the creek up to the bridge on Adams Street, which is currently under construction.

Phase two will be completed once construction on the bridge is done, and it includes finishing Hurley Creek underneath the bridge and into McKinley Lake.

“When phase two is done, which I hope is in the near future, then we go after the lake,” Kawa said.

McKinley Lake

The goal is to improve the quality of McKinley Lake. In order to receive grant money for the lake, the park first needed to be restored and then the water running into the lake needed to be clean.

Once phase two of the filtration system is done, Creston Park and Recreation will be better suited to receive grant money.

“We’re looking for money to dredge it out and keep it clean,” Kawa said. “Nothing’s ever been done to McKinley Lake other than build it.”

Dredging the lake and keeping it clean will open up McKinley Lake for a number of different uses, Kawa said.

“We can go after dredging out the lake, which will let us use it again for fishing, for community events, on the Fourth of July we could have a whole day of boating – just a lot of things we could use it for but haven’t been able to.”

Mark Huff, Creston Park and Recreation director, said the work being done will make McKinley Lake better in general.

“It’s kind of the final stage of the master plan,” Huff said. “Everything else has pretty much been accomplished with the exception of the lake. It’s, of course, the most expensive. The best thing is there will be better fishing.”

No fish are being removed from McKinley Lake during this project, but once dredging begins, fishing will be down until the project is done and the lake is restocked.

Kawa said there is limited funding available for urban lakes, which has made securing grant money difficult.

The $2.3 million that has been poured into McKinley Park so far has come from donations and grants. The city of Creston and taxpayer dollars have been minimal.

“Twelve years of work has been done by hundreds of people around town. All the sponsors, all the business people, they can see the stuff that’s been done at the park. It’s cool. You can’t be more excited about that. We’re going to keep pushing. We’re going to get it done.”