Last week’s tornadoes caused massive damage in three of the Kewanee Park District’s parks, and the recovery effort might not be finished until the end of next month.
The park board met Wednesday; the meeting had been postponed from the scheduled date of last Thursday in the wake of the July 15 tornadoes which devastated Windmont, Baker and Chautauqua parks.
Andrew Dwyer, the park district’s executive director, told the board that until the tornadoes hit, work had begun on an upgrade to the Windmont tennis courts, and he was concentrating on a new application for state funds for a handicap-accessible playground at Windmont.
“A lot of our projects have been placed on hold” so the storm damage could be addressed, Dwyer said.
Priorities have been cleaning up the Baker Park golf course and getting damage repaired at Windmont.
The golf course had to be addressed first, Dwyer said, because greens and fairways require daily maintenance. Downed trees had to be cleared so that mowing and other tasks could proceed.
Damage at Baker included large trees being felled along Cambridge Road that ended up on the course, and extensive tree damage to the inner drive, which has remained closed.
Park crews Wednesday turned their attention to Windmont, which has been closed since trees fell onto the walkway around the lagoon and five structures were damaged in the storm. Dwyer said he is waiting for an insurance adjuster to appraise the damage to the buildings.
The fence along Beach Street South was also damaged, and the park remained closed to the public on Wednesday.
After cleanup work at Windmont is finished, the park crews will work to get the Baker drive reopened.
Then, the work will move to Chautauqua, where a number of trees and limbs came down in the storm.
“I can’t say enough good things about the response” to the damage in the parks, Dwyer said, and he praised the efforts of the park’s staff to get things back to normal.
Commissioner Nichelle Morey said she’s been approached by people who want to volunteer to help clean up Windmont. Dwyer said a call for volunteer help will go out once the power lines have been cleared and it’s safe to go into the park again.
Dwyer said he hopes to have all of the damage fixed at Windmont by mid-August, and the park recovery finished by the end of August.
