(Beaver Dam) Beaver Dam Mayor Becky Glewen and City Administrator Nathan Thiel recently accepted a $10,000 donation for renovations at Swan Park from a team of dedicated volunteers at First Lutheran. The volunteers help coordinate the annual rummage sale, cookie walk, and Christmas Bazaar events. Thiel says this is an exciting opportunity for the community.
“This isn’t something new that Beaver Dam [has] done. We’ve done it in the past,” Thiel says. “But what is new is that we have a very old and outdated comprehensive plan. Last time it was updated was [like] back in 2008. So, it’s been a while.”
Thiel says the city tries to update the community action plan every five to ten years with the intent of making the community a better place. He adds that this is a bottom up project.
“Instead of me being the one to craft a plan, we go out and we solicit the community and say ‘hey, what do you want? What do you want to look at?” says Thiel. “And the ideation and the creation of thought processes and concepts and so forth all come from the community. They gather, they put together their ideas, they think through processes, and at the end of the day, they’re pitching to themselves.”
Next year, the city will begin design work for Phase III of Swan Park improvements which will include the outer walkway, the bandshell, and the seating area featured in the Swan Park concept plan. Current estimates for this project are $1.5 million dollars. To date, the city has spent $3 million with aid of $350,000 in donations and $855,768 in DNR Stewardship funding.
