Renovated Clark Island under water

A flagpole, bridges and the baseball diamond's pitching mound were just about the only parts of Batavia's Clark Island Recreation Area above water on Friday.

"We're waiting for the waters to recede and evaluate what it left us," said Mike Clark, executive director of the Batavia Park District.

A $1.3 million renovation project was just completed this summer for the park. It included new bridges, a restored shelter and a new playground.

The district's main concern is the turf and plantings installed this spring. Although they are designed to survive when submerged, they may not be mature enough to survive this long yet, Clark said.

But the renovation also reinforced the north ends of the islands to reduce erosion and stabilized the islands.

"That was good timing," Clark said. "In their previous condition, we could have lost the islands."

The benches and trash cans peeking out from the river are secured on concrete slabs and should be fine, Clark said.

Veterans with the district said it was the highest river level they could recall around the park.

Fall baseball games will likely be moved to other fields, Clark said.

He hoped all the work that had put into the park would withstand the flood.

"We're saying some nice prayers here," he said.