RICHFIELD — TC Energy officially made its $250,000 donation to the Washington County Natural Resources Department for the Glacier Hills Lakefront Development Project at Glacier Hills County Park, 1664 Friess Lake Road, Friday morning.
"(TC Energy) is obviously a company coming through our community right now and they really wanted to figure out how they could give back to the community and support the environment," Natural Resources Department Director Jamie Ludovic said. "This is a project where their money is going to be deployed, which is going to help with phase one."
"Today is just about our partnership, TC Energy’s partnership with Washington County and the citizens of Washington County," said Craig Summerfield, TC Energy state government and community relations for the Great Lakes region. "We’re so very grateful to be here, and we look forward to continuing that partnership with the Wisconsin Reliability Project and also partnering, as Jamie (Ludovic) mentioned, with core investments in the community."
The Glacier Hills Lakefront Development Project is a three-phase project that will include infrastructure and stormwater improvements, the construction of a walkway compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) down to Friess Lake, and a new permanent dock.
"This has been a project that has been on the radar for years now," Washington County Board Chair Jeff Schleif said. "This is a beautiful area and Jamie (Ludovic) and her staff have been working on this for several years."
According to Assistant Natural Resources Director Logan Bliss, phase one will improve the roadway down to the lake and the stormwater infrastructure. Stormwater infrastructure improvements will include a permeable paver area, which will allow for more water infiltration, and a native bio-retention basin.
"We’re going to redirect all the flow coming off of this hillside to our permeable pavers and bio-retention basin, so it can filter everything out before going into the lake," said Bliss.
Currently, underground piping carries stormwater into the lake.
"We’re losing some of our hillside because of that," Bliss said. "So, we’re really looking to redirect all of our water into a bio-retention basin and filter that out before it goes into Friess Lake, so we can actually get clean water into the lake."
Phase two of the project will include the construction of an ADA-compliant ramp, with several landing areas, from the parking lot down to the lakefront, and phase three will include the construction of the permanent dock.
The proposed dock includes a 20foot walkway to the fixed dock that is about 60 feet by 20 feet (between the shore and dock along the walkway will be a shallow swimming area for families), and will include a kayak launch and three 20-foot walkways (fingers) onto the water, one of which will be a dedicated fishing pier and the others as deep-water swimming areas.
Feedback and grants sought
The current concept of the dock is only a 30% rendering, according to Bliss, and is subject to change.
According to Ludovic, the county is seeking feedback from Friess Lake residents on the project, including whether or not to have the dock include boat parking.
"The point I want to make ... is that it’s a concept, and we’re still actively going to be soliciting shape feedback and what this is going to look like," Ludovic said. "If you have any, please reach out and share it."
Feedback can be sent by email to parks@washcowisco.gov.
Bliss added that whether or not boat parking will be allowed at the new dock will also be decided by grant funding, as some grants have certain requirements.
"Certain grants, it’s more favorable to allow boat parking and certain grants, it’s not," Bliss said. "So, that has to be a conversation with, obviously, the community and the residents on the lake, and the state on what’s going to make the most sense for us to get the maximum amount of funding to pull this off."
Grant applications have already begun this fall, according to Bliss, and the department will continue to apply for grants this winter and secure match funding this spring. The department will also be securing permits from the state and Richfield for the project throughout 2025.
"Our goal right now is to try and get construction in 2026, but that’s contingent upon what grant funding we’re able to achieve," Bliss said. "We want to try to fund this fully before construction."
Along with the $250,000 donation from TC Energy, $200,000 from the County Parks and trail Endowment has been earmarked for the project, too.
County Supervisor Denis Kelling said that this project is near and dear to him, because of the time he spent in the park with his family growing up, and he is excited to revitalize the park’s lakefront area.
"In 1971, my family started coming out here, I was like 6 years old, and it was all my aunts, uncles and cousins, and there’s a lot of us ... and we literally took over this park on the first weekend after the Fourth of July," Kelling said. "As kids growing up, this, if you ever had a safe space in your life, this was it for my whole family. We absolutely adore this place, and it was so sad when it got moved to the county for us, because we had to find some place else to go.
"Being the chairman of Land Use and Planning, now after all these years, and being able to be involved in this and be a part of this ... is amazing."
Kelling thanked TC Energy for its donation, which he said will help restore the park back to its former glory and make it more accessible for everyone in the county.
"I think bringing the lakefront to this beautiful park will just be incredible," Kelling said.