City plans to replace Silve Lake Beach retaining wall

The city of Portage will once again invest in Silver Lake Beach.

The Parks and Recreation Board voted 4-1 on Tuesday to proceed with the replacement of a retaining wall at the location this spring.

The more than 200-foot-long wall will be replaced instead of repaired. The full replacement is expected to cost around $100,000.

Board members said they want the wall to be aesthetically pleasing and noted that it could look something like the retaining wall at the Market Square parking lot downtown.

Well be dead the next time they replace this wall, said Board Chairman Brian Zirbes, stating the groups rationale for going beyond a simple repair.

Zirbes, however, was the lone no vote Tuesday. Zirbes is not against the project, but had hoped it would go farther and potentially expand facilities with a deck of some type.

Manager of Parks and Recreation Dan Kremer, however, said the project budget did not allow the group to expand the scope. The plan presented was what the engineer thought was the best option for function and longevity within the proposed budget, he said.

Funding for the project was approved as part of the 2015 city budget.

The city will now seek construction bids for the project.

Board member Todd Kreckman, an assistant varsity soccer coach in Portage, called on city officials to get tougher in protecting the varsity soccer field in Veterans Memorial Field.

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City plans to replace Silve Lake Beach retaining wall