Geneva's RiverPark group's job is done
The private citizens group that brought a riverside park to downtown Geneva is disbanding, as its work is done.
The nonprofit RiverPark of Geneva committee will shut down as of Dec. 31.
"It's a happy ending," co-chairman Mary Zaander said.
The city-owned two-acre park, on the west bank of the Fox River at River Lane and Peyton Street, will be maintained by the city and the Geneva Park District.
Oversight of the park -- and improving the vacant city-owned lot to its north and Geneva Garden Club Park to the south, in total about four acres -- will be taken over by a subcommittee of the city's Strategic Plan Advisory Committee. Volunteers are welcome.
RiverPark, built by volunteers, was finished and dedicated in June. It features a natural stone amphitheater and native landscaping. One prominent feature is a "history wall" detailing the history of the site from 400 million years ago (when it was part of an ancient sea) to the present day, including artifacts discovered during excavation. The land formerly housed a glucose factory, an icehouse, a mill and a steel company.
Geneva Green Market was held in its parking area this summer.
"It (the market) was never in our idea of what could happen, but it sprung forth," Zaander said. "I don't know what will happen, but we're open to having lots of other things down there."
The amphitheater, which has an electrical supply, could be used by music groups from schools and clubs such as the Fox Valley Folklore Society, she said.
The park started in 1996 as a reaction to a developer's plans to build condominiums on the site. Outraged residents petitioned the city to save the land. Geneva bought it for $2 million.
RiverPark of Geneva Inc. formed to raise money to improve the site and to design and build the park. Volunteers, including Scout groups, spent many a Saturday morning excavating, building paths, installing equipment, planting trees, putting in retaining walls and more. They raised more than 8,000 native plants from seed and transplanted them to the park.
The Strategic Plan Advisory Committee, which reviews the city's comprehensive plan, has several subcommittees, including a natural resources panel, the Geneva Forum for Arts and Education and a bicycle-and-pedestrian group.
Zaander would like to see a native ecology system restoration on the land to the north, and a redesign of Geneva Garden Club Park to put its parking lot on the periphery rather than the center.
"We hope citizens will take those on," Zaander said.