Cedar Lake project goes to next level

CEDAR RAPIDS - Not too many months ago the Friends of Cedar Lake was a vocal advocacy group trying to get the city to sign on to fix up the 115-acre industrial lake just north of downtown.

Now the Friends have landed their cause squarely in the center of Cedar Rapids city policymaking, and on Wednesday, the City Council's Development Committee recommended that the council approve moving ahead to seek public input on the lake's future.

The input process will help the city decide whether it will take ownership of the lake. It now is owned by Alliant Energy and had been used to provide cooling water to the utility's now-closed power plant nearby.

The city also likely will want to study of the lake's sediment to identify any environmental contamination as it decides whether to own the lake.

Jennifer Pratt, the city's director of community development and planning, told the council committee Wednesday that the public input process will include focus groups of neighborhood residents, adjacent property owners and others to help determine the status of the lake, how it fits into the city's parks and recreation master plan and what people think of the Friends of Cedar Lake vision for the property.

A piece of the city's stormwater sewer system drains into the lake, and the discussions will include how issues with the system affect the lake, she said.

Dale Todd, president of Friends of Cedar Lake, said his group has spent two years visiting with the public about plans for the lake. He asked Pratt and the council committee members to try to streamline the proposed city input process.

Pratt said the city hopes to get feedback and, perhaps, new ideas from people whom the lake advocates may not have reached.

Todd said the improvements will include better access to the water for boats and fishing, and beautification around it. His group has called for the lake, which has been filling in with sedimentation, to be dredged.

In May, the state removed the lake from its impaired waters list after years in which people were asked to limit the amount of catfish they ate from the lake. However, the removal did not address what might be in the lake bottom.

Council member Monica Vernon, chairwoman of the committee, said she could envision multifamily housing projects around parts of the lake that would provide residents with quick access to downtown via the Cedar River Trail, which encircles the lake.

Pratt said a steering committee consisting of representatives from the Friends, city, Linn County and Alliant has been meeting since January to push the Cedar Lake planning ahead.

She said the city's public input process could add to the momentum.