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A large crowd turned out for the dedication ceremony of the President Dwight Eisenhower sculpture at the Lions Club Fishing Ponds in Fraser in August 2008.
Sky-Hi News file photo
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A drawing showing the proposed waterfall feature between the two Lions Ponds, as well as the potential new location of the Dwight Eisenhower statue.
Courtesy Skinny Traffic, LLC
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A rendering from the master plan showing what the Lions Ponds area will look like after construction is completed.
Courtesy
As part of the Fraser River Corridor Master Plan, the Fraser Board of Trustees approved a second beautification and improvement project at the Lions Ponds for this summer at their regular meeting Wednesday night.
The project focuses on improving the outflow waterfall and the surrounding space between the two ponds, located on the east side of Highway 40 next to Safeway. It also includes a new home for the Dwight Eisenhower statue currently located on site, but in a less prominent area of the space.
“(The space) is just a channel right now, so the proposal is to take that and make it a real amenity,” said Jeff Durbin, Fraser town manager. “I’d love to see this piece go forward, so we can keep raising the bar out there while we continue to work on the bigger project.”
Aside from creating a more visually pleasing waterfall feature between the two ponds, a sitting area with rocks and benches will be incorporated close to the feature for visitors to enjoy the improvements.
Durbin estimates the work to cost somewhere in the $40,000 to $45,000 range, which is significantly below the $250,000 budget for Fraser River Corridor projects this year. He said that’s because the town hopes to leave some money in the fund to leverage for grant dollars to get bigger projects done in the upcoming years.
“It would tee up a big project, probably a $1 million plus type of project next year,” he said.
The town is working with Fraser-based Skinny Traffic, LLC for the project, which also completed the Lions Ponds pilot project last year.
While this project constitutes the majority of the work the town is doing on the Fraser River Corridor Master Plan for the year, the town is also planting more trees in the area near Lions Ponds and constructing a grassy knoll to be used for the entrance area.
The Board of Trustees was supportive of the work as a way to show visible progress on the project, as the town prepares physically and financially for the bigger projects, including building an outdoor classroom space, installing restrooms and constructing a gazebo.
“Having a feature like this for photographs and to keep the momentum going and get some things done this year could help the process,” said trustee Andy Miller. “I think it’s a good demo project, so I’m all for it.”
Ultimately, the Fraser River Corridor Master Plan outlines $6.5 million in improvements to the Cozens Ranch Open Space, which stretches over 120 acres.
The work in the Lions Ponds area this year builds on the pilot project completed last year that planted trees and improved the trails around the pond for accessibility and safety.