PRINT ADS

Grading issues and sinkholes at West Salem’s Village Park will again be addressed after work last fall was not enough.

Last September, residents Gerry Van Oss and Paul Degenhardt brought concerns of park conditions to the village board. In particular, their concerns focused on accumulations of water after a rainfall.

Some work last fall attempted to address grading issues, but, after rainfalls in April, Van Oss was back before the board May 6 with photos that showed standing water was still a problem.

“I just want to know what happened,” Van Oss said. “This is our premier park. We have the (Veterans) Court of Honor, the gazebo and June Dairy Days coming up. What we end up with is a really nice lake.”

Village Administrator Teresa Schnitzler said the public works department did as much as it could last fall considering improvements to Village Park were not budgeted. However, she said the village engineering company is currently looking at the park and ways to improve drainage.

However, Schnitzler reminded Van Oss that one of the village’s concerns with grading last fall was that it would only be a temporary solution.

“Basically what we did was move the problem somewhere else,” she said.

Schnitzler also pointed out that West Salem received higher-than-average rainfall in April.

The village did address an issue with the patio of the park’s shelter, where there was a 6-inch drop on one corner. The concrete and ground are now even.

In other news, the board designated Union State Bank as the village’s official depository.