Pledges support to Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance

BAY CITY – After the fire that occurred on the playground at Saratoga Park in May, the Bay City Village Board has ordered new equipment for the playground that will be arriving in 12 weeks. The village board had received a donation of old equipment as a temporary replacement, but the equipment was stolen, leaving the playground at Saratoga Park barren.

According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office reports, deputies located the stolen donated equipment at 1:21 p.m. June 17 at W6778 150th Ave., Bay City. The village requested it be brought back and did not wish to pursue charges, because it appeared to be a misunderstanding. The man with the equipment said he’d bring it back.

The new playground equipment will remain similar to what was there before the fire, having three slides, a rockclimbing wall and sunshades on the top. There will be a new ground cover filled with wood chips. The cost of replacing the equipment including labor, and materials is approximately $53,000._ The village’s insurance will cover the costs of the vandalism from the fire and handle any restitution recovery from the fire.

Saratoga Park has had its basketball court completed with hoops being placed after the concrete was poured. The court is a half-court in size and cost approximately $6,300. The Bay City Village Board is also making preparations for replacing sidewalks on the north side of Main Street this year. The sidewalks are all poured and will be worked on the next couple of weeks. The cost of the sidewalk replacement is $9,000.

Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance

The Bay City Village Board has pledged $10,000 to the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance Mississippi River restoration project that is going to start next year. LPLA is an advocacy group that works to reduce sediment collapse along the Mississippi River, create local sediment management projects, and investigates emerging threats to water quality, habitat, and accessibility in Lake Pepin. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is in the process of setting up an account for the public funds to be kept separate from board funds.

When the account is set up, the village will be contributing half of the pledge and then either next year or the year after the village will pay the other half. Per capita, the Bay City Village Board is giving the largest contribution to the project from a public account.

LPLA also had an information session and Lake Pepin tour for local politicians on the issue of sediment excess on June 12.

“The area is very filled in, I really had no idea because I had never been out on the river. The sediment issue is a huge area that goes on for many miles.” said Bay City Village Clerk Kim Lunda, who went on the tour.

The attendees included Minnesota Congresswoman Angie Craig, Wisconsin State Rep. Jeff Smith, Bay City Village Board Trustees Norm Baker and Jerry McConnell, Lunda, Col. Karl Jansen, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District; Minnesota Rep. Barb Haley, Red Wing Mayor Mike Smith and several LPLA board members. They visited three areas affected by excess sediment at the head of Lake Pepin, including Lighthouse Island In many places, people can walk across Upper Lake Pepin to the other side. Boat and barge groundings are becoming more common.

The buildup of sediment is mostly from soil washing into rivers from farmland. The Army Corp of Engineers will be dredging pools and access channels near Bay City. Dredged materials from Reeds Landing will be used to build islands and peninsulas in Upper Lake Pepin, which will help reduce wind and waves and promote better water quality and clarity. The peninsulas will also help guide sediment depositing.

Deep pools also create habitat for fish in the winter, such as bass, crappies, bluegills and others. These fish need healthy oxygen levels to survive winter.

The project will also include planting native vegetation, which creates new habitat and helps keep sediment in place.

The project comes with a $20 million price tag. Project work is scheduled to begin in 2022.

Photo by Sarah Nigbor