Work begins at new park
Dirt work on the construction of the new Carl Reherman Park is underway at Arcadia Lake.
City council members in September accepted a nearly $1.6 million contract with Downey Contracting to start work on the day-use-only park that eventually will provide another boat launch area, City Manager Larry Stevens said.
The contractor started in mid-November and has 150 calendar days to complete the work.
This is the first new park to be added to the 1,820acre Arcadia Lake since it was created in 1984.
The improvements now under construction include building roads into the park, and a number of picnic sites that will have a great view of the lake, Stevens said.
“The project also involves some rough grading of the boat parking area and the boat ramp,” Stevens said.
City officials are attempting to obtain grant assistance from the state, which has programs that support lake fishing. Money for this contract will be funded through the park tax fund.
The park will be a seasonal park open only during peak usage times of the year, said Craig Dishman, parks and recreation director.
The new area will be a day park on the south end of the lake with picnic spots, a fishing pier, a boat ramp and parking.
It will be constructed in phases and will be the fifth park at the lake, Dishman said.
The roadway into the park from 33rd Street and Air Depot Boulevard already has been built.
The park was named after former Edmond Mayor Carl Reherman. He said having a park at Arcadia Lake named in his honor gave him the strength to survive before his 2007 liver transplant.
Carl Reherman served five terms as mayor and was instrumental in the city’s partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to create Arcadia Lake during the 1980s. He took to the groundbreaking a hard hat that was given to him when the lake was being built.