ROCHESTER — Dredging of Silver Lake, along with planned dam modifications and ongoing park improvements, will be the subject of a planned two-hour open house later this month.
“Predominately, it’s going to be about the dredging and dam modifications, but along with that we had assumed questions about the park improvements will be coming up, so we’ll talk about current park projects and future projects,” Rochester Parks and Forestry Division Head Mike Nigbur said of the event planned from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. July 17 in Silver Lake Station, 702 W. Silver Lake Drive NE.
Silver Lake Park improvements include current work on a new pool and splashpad, plans for a $1.4 million skate park upgrade and the creation of an indigenous gathering area where the Zumbro River and Silver Creek meet.
The overall park improvements are budgeted at $9.7 million, using funds from the city’s 2020 park referendum and grants.
The bulk of the July 17 open house presentation at 5:15 p.m. is expected to provide an update on plans to dredge the lake and modify the Silver Lake Bridge, as well as some shore line.
With the latest report pointing to 230,000 cubic yards of sediment to be removed from the lake, the dredging and dam project is intended to address long-term maintenance, safety, environmental and accessibility needs in the park area, while combining efforts to reduce costs of the overall $9.5 million effort.
Last year, the Rochester City Council approved an agreement to receive nearly $2.4 million in state funds for dam changes that are expected to maintain much of the lake’s footprint while allowing added recreational uses and wildlife movement past the new dam.
The city already has $4 million in flood-control reserves budgets for dredging the lake, and local funding for the dam project is expected to be supported by nearly $1.2 million Rochester Public Utilities has earmarked for upgrades to the existing dam, as well as a potential $800,000 that would be spent on future maintenance costs
It would leave the city with approximately $1.1 million needed to fund the dam work.
The latest proposal does not include funding for trail connections under the nearby Broadway Avenue bridge or a proposed pedestrian bridge over the narrowed section of waterway in Silver Lake Park, but it does call for grading a north shore trail once lake levels are lowered for the dredging work.
Nigbur said the city received word this week that it will receive a $250,000 grant to cover half the anticipated cost of paving the planned trail extension on the northside of the lake.
“It completes that north shore link,” he said.
Following the July 17 open house, city staff are slated to provide a dredging and dam update to the City Council during its July 28 study session, which will also be used to solicit council feedback on the overall project.