ELLSWORTH — The Ellsworth Parks, Recreation and Development Committee went over three concept maps for an East End Park Master Plan on Monday. The meeting was to advise village engineer MSA on which portions of the concepts they approved and which they did not, with MSA returning at a future meeting with new concepts based on the feedback for the committee to review again.

The three concepts were all varied, but the committee had the ability to mix and match their features when possible. Perhaps the largest of their differences were the option to daylight the currently buried creek that runs through the park. Decades ago, the creek was buried through a culvert system. In one of the three concepts, that burial would remain; in another, the creek would be daylighted but remain a thin band that runs through the park filled with vegetation and in the third, the same creek would run through with the addition of a thicker holding pond area.

The overall sentiment from the committee was that they were against the holding pond concept, with varying approval levels of daylighting the creek without the pond.

“I’m not 100% convinced on the idea of daylighting the waterway,” Committee Member Jarod Traynor said. “It was covered for a reason and reopening it might take away some green space.”

Traynor said if they did it, he is confident they would do it right, but after weighing the pros and cons he favored the creek to remain buried.

Village President Becky Beissel spoke in favor of daylighting the creek, mentioning a current drainage issue, gaining additional interest in the park and a confidence in the engineering services to get it right.

MSA Landscape Architect Eleanor Brandt said there are usually fewer issues daylighting a creek than there are burying one.

A reason to explore daylighting the creek is to reduce the water pooling that has occurred on the grounds, especially in the area near the bathrooms. The belief is that opening the creek would allow the water to drain into it. The creek would be largely dry at times, which is why the area would be vegetated to avoid a row of mud developing.

One area the committee asked MSA to stray from the concepts was the existing basketball court. Just one of the proposals included the court, but committee members said they anecdotally have seen many residents playing on the court when passing by, and they would like to keep a half court at a minimum.

“I do have some reservations with getting rid of the basketball court altogether. I see that getting used a lot when I go through downtown,” Committee Member Ryan Bench said.

The bandshell proposal was tossed around by the committee, with conversations between constructed seating and open green space seating being bounced around. The committee leaned toward a more open seating arrangement to allow for versatility in the case of a variety of events.

Multiple members of the public brought up an on-site cabin. Two of the proposals included keeping the cabin in-tact and one proposal involved removing the cabin. According to Beissel, the cabin was created in 1922 as a log cabin kitchen by an organization that eventually developed into the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce. Multiple audience members said when they cleaned the cabin ahead of a community event, there were issues including animal fecal matter and the logs not being chinked properly. The committee did not advise MSA of a firm stance either in favor or against retaining the cabin. What was mentioned by Traynor is that if the cabin is to remain in the plan, there needs to be both restoration and a plan to use the cabin. It was also mentioned that the cost of restoration needs to be weighed by the community if it is to remain.

“If that’s the direction where we’re going, we can’t just have a pile of rotting logs,” Traynor said. “If that’s the way it’s going to be then I would rather take it down.”

No voting decisions on the plan were made at the meeting, and MSA will return to a future meeting with concepts based on the feedback, one with a daylighted creek and one without.

Bonnie Langer Park Donation

Ann Huppert was given the go ahead to donate furniture to Bonnie Langer Park. Huppert plans to open an ice cream shop at 335 W. Main St. in late March or early April, and wanted to add bench seating and a garbage can to the area to make it a place for people to enjoy.