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Menasha surfaces as lead site for a whitewater park by Joel Patenaude
Now seat yourself in a city government office and try to maintain that same level of excitement. It's not hard for Brian Tungate, parks and recreation director for the city of Menasha, Wisconsin, and a whitewater kayaker for 20 years. What's floating his boat these days is the dream of building the first whitewater paddling park on the Fox River. He envisions transforming an neglected riverside industrial site into a play area for paddlers of all abilities, picnicking spectators, shoreline walking trail users, fishermen and entire families. "At first blush, we think we can make it work," he said. As Tungate's vocation and avocation head down the same channel, his enthusiasm brims. He senses the project has momentum. It's as if the water's high and he's riding the idea on a fast moving stream. Since the Fox Cities Whitewater Park Committee formed little more than a year ago, with Tungate serving as chairman, a firm that designs such facilities visited and evaluated 10 Fox River sites last fall and recommended four receive further study. But one site rose above the others in the feasibility study, released last December by Recreation Engineering and Planning (REP) of Boulder, Colorado. The site is an old paper mill feeder channel just downstream of the Menasha Dam, which the Army Corps of Engineers uses to control the water level of Lake Winnebago. Setting the local committee's current course was this bit of REP analysis about the Menasha location: "This appears to be the only site in the project area that would have a consistent source of flow. A carefully designed bypass channel could serve as the centerpiece of the planned development. A potential private/public partnership between the city of Menasha and the private development company presents a unique and timely opportunity." Indeed, local developer Randy Stadtmueller told the weekly News-Record in January that the idea of replacing the old Gilbert paper mill with a whitewater park "is fascinating to think about." "It's economic development, recruiting people and having that recreation resource in the Valley," he told the newspaper. "It's a huge challenge, naturally going from manufacturing to something else, but I think we can easily see the benefits." The whitewater park proposal comes as Stadtmueller waits to hear whether federal grant money will be available to pay for tearing down the vacant paper mill. The community should know within a couple months whether the U.S. Department of Commerce will accept the grant application. Until the buildings come down and open up a view to the river, it's hard to imagine a recreation area there, let alone a water park. "It's a critical first step," Tungate said of the need for demolition. He said the conclusions of the initial whitewater site study could bolster the redevelopment efforts. "Had our study been done just six months later ..." Tungate began, "well, the timing is fortuitous." Other Fox River possibilities Besides Menasha, REP scored three other Fox Valley sites highly: • Site 1: Appleton, between the Memorial and Oneida street bridges. While this site is close to the city center, a dam would need to be significantly modified to eliminate a safety hazard and allow for a boat chute. • Site 4: Appleton, under the College Avenue bridge and near Lock No. 4. Here lies another bypass canal to an abandoned paper mill plus an adjacent city park. But relatively low flow and the possible sale of the property to an unknown entity ranked the site slightly lower. • Site 8: Neenah, between Shattuck and Island parks near the Neenah dam. A channel for paddling could be fashioned from the spillway, and a nearly complete trail system links the parks. But the site suffers from low flow. Still, Tungate entertains the notion that multiple parks could be developed. "Why couldn't the Fox Valley be a mecca for whitewater play spots? We already do whitewater paddling in Kaukauna." (Although an exciting area for experienced kayakers, Kaukauna was not seriously considered by the consultants because of the many braided channels, islands and nonexistent public access.) "We'd be happy with one" whitewater park, Tungate said. So his committee is focusing its efforts on the Menasha site. "The iron is hot here in Menasha," he said. "That's not to say we won't come back and look at the other sites." Menasha challenges It will be a large enough engineering feat to transform the nearly 400-foot Menasha bypass channel, hemmed in by concrete pilings and remnant shoreline vegetation, into an inviting whitewater park. Tungate said the century-old canal would need to be extended by another 500 to 600 feet to include a handful of built rapids of varrying difficulty and a staircase of drop pools. "The water would drop 7 1/2-foot over 1,000 feet. That's more than sufficient," Tungate said. A great deal of excavation will be required, but Tungate suggested much of it could be done by the city public works department. He said the end product will likely be a whitewater park that is a blend of the the kind of terracing and landscaping seen at the Wausau Kayak/Canoe Corporation's slalom course on the Wisconsin River and the longer and more urban East Race Waterway of South Bend, Indiana. Another possible structure that could be incorporated into the project is a small hydropower plant which Menasha Utilities has expressed interest in building near the site. Rather than see the plant as a detriment, Tungate said it could serve as a control structure for releasing water into the whitewater park. "The beauty is we'd have local control of the flow. Tthe plant could go to full power overnight. Of course we'd have to keep enough water flowing to maintain habitat. It's all very preliminary at this point," he said. But if a hydropower plant and a whitewater park can work in concert, Tungate said the local economy will get a boost and the environment will benefit. "Where's the downside?" he asked. Any plans for the park will include keeping the lower end of the channel as natural as possible to restore habitat and create fishing opportunities. Tungate said a fishing pier could be built and even a sturgeon spawning bed might be an outcome. Taking this approach, the project could qualify for state and federal grants meant for river cleanup and habitat restoration efforts. "There's 5-6 really good sources of money and in-kind services," Tungate said. "But we're not sure how much it will all cost or who will pay for it. It could be combined investment for the utility company, the city and developer." He said the whitewater park committee is "gearing up" to launch a large fund-raising campaign, but the major beneficiaries need o be lined up first. The facility could have a commercial aspects, too, from the sale of concessions and inflatable kayak – or "funyaks" – for rent. "You could float down then carry your boat up to do it again," Tungate said. "People are going to want to get on the water in a safe manner. We don't want to exclude anybody. The park would pull paddlers from Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago and points west. "People are paddling these days with a 'park and play' mentality. They're going to want to bring the whole family to the Fox Cities for this," Tungate said. "If built right, it will be a real attraction." Joel Patenaude is the editor of Silent Sports.
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