Officials want public input during updates to Greene state park
Two ponds have formed where Duke Lake used to be in Ryerson Station State Park.
Pam Metzger, with the Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, speaks to the “Friends of Ryerson” group about getting involved and excited about upcoming renovations to Ryerson Station State Park, during a meeting Monday at the park office.
WIND RIDGE – Ryerson Station State Park Manager Alan Johnson hopes to see more people join a “Friends of Ryerson” volunteer group to voice their opinions in anticipation of the nearly $40 million renovation of the park.
Johnson said, during the group’s meeting Monday night, that the dozen people in attendance could be the “voice of the park” during renovations that could include a new pool complex, modernized campgrounds, additional cabins, a paved bike trail, a boardwalk, a playground and amphitheater.
“As long as you have that small core group of people that want to make something happen, there’s room for success,” he said.
The “Friends of Ryerson” held the meeting at the park’s visitors center to “revitalize” the group, which has been kept alive by four board members for years. This is the third “revitalization” meeting the group has held in eight years after Duke Lake was drained in 2005 when cracks were found in the dam, which state officials claimed was caused by longwall mining near the park.
The state and Consol Energy reached a $36 million settlement in 2013 and the plan was to rebuild the dam and lake. The state spent almost $10 million of the settlement for lake sediment removal and for the initial redesign of the dam, but the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced last July it could not rebuild the dam because of continued ground movement near the park.
About $26 million remains in the settlement money, but Johnson said additional funds will most likely be added to help with renovating the park. He declined to say where the other funds will come from, but said information would be revealed during a tentative May 17 meeting.
That meeting will also feature more detailed descriptions on the attractions being planned for the park. Most of the ideas came out of resident surveys sent out by a local task force and the DCNR, who worked together to map out where some of the proposed trails and other attractions could go.
Johnson, who’s also a member of the “Friends of Ryerson” group, invited Pam Metzger, with Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation, to talk to the group Monday about what they can do to get more people involved and excited about the park and any changes that might happen.
“It’s not every day you get an opportunity like what these renovations could be,” she said.
The “Friends” group has an $11,000 budget that’s used for small-scale projects such as programming, buying new picnic tables and clean-up days.
“We need this group to get the park back,” said Brandy Tuttle, a Richhill Township resident who attended the meeting. “We need people who live in the area who have a heart for the park. Some people are very disheartened because the dams not going to be fixed, but I think most people just want to see something happen.”