In 2025, a new bridge was built over the little creek in Spring Lake Park that, among other things, illuminated the need for a park board.

The previous bridge was serviceable but public works wanted a bridge to make it possible to take a lawn mower over to the west side of the park without exiting at Webster Avenue.

With no park board to challenge the project, the city council simply approved a bridge along with other park amenities on the 2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP.)

The cost? $100,000. Structurally and financially, it was overkill.

And it smells bad, like oil-treated railroad ties.

A plan to build a similar additional bridge at the same cost on the north end of the park was withdrawn following public objection.

Items such as this tend to get buried in the books, resulting in decisions that hemmorage taxpayer money. In the 2023 CIP, the bridge is not specifically listed. It was included under Parks for $204,000 and no one was aware of its actual cost.

On the 2024 CIP, the forecast for 2026 specifically lists a second bridge at Spring Lake Park, this time showing the $100,000 budgeted for it. Citizen protest at a council meeting resulted in it being cancelled.