Oakland Township Celebrates Lost Lake Nature Park Groundbreaking

The Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Commission held a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off construction on improvements—including a nature center—to the with members of the township government, the parks and recreation staff and the general public in attendance at the park.

At the ground-breaking, members of the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce awarded a congratulatory certificate to the Oakland Parks and Recreation Commission for the expected renovations, which are expected to be completed by January 2013.

According to the Fall 2012 Oakland Township Parks and Recreation Park Newsletter, a nature center has been a goal of the commission since 2000. , which was only bought in 2004, will now have a nature park in addition to several renovations around the park.

The group met just outside a house on the property whose bottom half, after renovations, will be converted to a nature center, with the upper portion remaining for caretaker for the park. Parks Planner Mindy Milos-Dale said that these renovations are the realizations of the park's potential.

"A lot of communities have (a nature center) and it's been a long time coming for us," she said. "But as soon as we saw this park, this house, we knew right away ... we just knew that it's going to be perfect."

Milos-Dale, stressing that students will be able to use and visit the nature center come January, said that construction on the nature center will be funded in part by a grant from that will cover approximately $155,000. She added that the township will pay about $100,000 as well for the nature center.

Becky McLogan, the director of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said other improvements include a dock for the lake, more pathways and redesigning the sled hill, adding that improvements to the park will be made more accessible per the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"The additions will enhance the use of the park," she said. "Right now we have some undeveloped trails and a sled hill and a lake."

Alice Tomboulian, the vice-chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Commission, said she would visit the land where the park now is years before it became a park for its diverse fauna.

"It is so rich with wildlife and the waterlife and I used to come here long before it was a park and ask the owners if we could come in and take a look for the birds that live in here which is also an interesting and amazing part of this park," she said.

Tom Maliszewski, one of the general contractors for the project, said he's been sledding at the park with his grandchildren before, and said that this park will be an asset for the future.

"Urban sprawl's slowed down, but it's still on the move," he said. "This is now set aside for all the people that will be moving out here eventually."

Milos-Dale said the park is about 60 total acres after being bought in a piecemeal fashion and that it plays host to a winter carnival as well as concerts in the summer.

"We've been working on this since 2000," she said. "It's really been the dedication of our parks commission that has made this come to fruition."