“Restoration” work started at Sutton Bay Village’s Waterwheel Park April 23 much to the surprise of some residents.
Village staff expect crews to restore a more natural flow to the creek in the park in the next 30 days by the end of May.
“This week the process began staging and preparing the site to implement a new cascading creek,” Village Manager Rob Larrea told the newspaper. “In order to make up that elevation drop, they’re going to make several little pockets and drops within it, so it cascades down and makes up that drop as it meanders through. They’re recreating the creek, putting a bench in there that will mimic the floodplain.”
This project had actually been in the works for some time. A sinkhole that opened in the park in August 2022 redirected the park’s unnamed creek away from the eponymous water wheel into the hole, which threatened nearby infrastructure. The following January, the village council approved spending just under $170,000 to adjust the flow of the creek.
At this meeting, the village council also decided to not replace the damaged waterwheel structure. Replacing the waterwheel and concrete wall would have cost about $270,000 in unbudgeted expenses, and the council president said there were “very slim” chances of the village securing grants to help cover these costs.
Larrea said that restoration at Water Wheel Park was originally planned to start in the fall, but an emergency sewer project on Front Street from Dame to Madison streets pushed it back to this spring. Larrea said that the exact start date was not determined until an April 19 pre-construction meeting, with site preparation starting just four days later – a “pretty aggressive” schedule motivated by a desire to get the project done quickly after the delays.
As part of the site preparation, crews have removed at least two trees from the park. The first, a healthy-looking pine tree, had to be removed because its root system was compromised when the village took temporary measures to address the sinkhole. Crews also removed a maple tree that Larrea said was in poor health.
“It was a nicely sized tree (that was) probably there for 20 years or so. But it was not healthy. It had woodpecker holes all over. The tree was rotted; it was not in good shape. It appeared healthy – a lot of these trees will still grow buds. But it was still rotting. This is a problem with a lot of trees in the village. That’s why we have such an aggressive replanting program,” Larrea said.
The loss of the trees was a disappointment to several residents. Derek Bailey, who lives and grew up in Suttons Bay on St. Mary’s Street across from Waterwheel Park, recalls that the park was once “a real attraction for people who didn’t live here but knew about it,” and bemoans the loss of its signature characteristics like the maple trees and waterwheel.
Bailey said that when he saw crews at work cutting down the trees, he urged them to put a halt to work to see if it could be transplanted and preserved. Crews directed him to contact Village Manager Larrea, but Bailey couldn’t get in touch with him, and the trees were ultimately removed.
The village plans to plant around five new “fast growing” maple trees in Waterwheel Park to replace the lost greenery. Larrea said that he would have preferred to preserve this older tree and acknowledged that the tree had sentimental value to many residents, but that it simply wasn’t feasible to save it.
Larrea added that the village plans on making additional improvements to the park in the near future, including bringing it into compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines and adding a “cultural ring” for community gatherings.
