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Leesburg residents excited about Ski Beach improvements

Leesburg residents excited about Ski Beach improvements

by DeVore Design, February 20, 2017

As longtime residents reminisced about the “good old days” at Ski Beach, they also saw the future of the site as city staff recently unveiled plans to make Venetian Gardens a destination once again.

Venetian Gardens always has been a picturesque spot on Lake Harris’ north shore. But recreational activity has tailed off over the years, and now the city is in the middle of three phases of improvements across the 65-acre area.

Residents heard details about $2.49 million in enhancements planned for the Ski Beach park area during a public meeting at the Leesburg Community Building.

Plans include a boat ramp and docks, walkways, decorative fencing and lighting, new landscaping, a paved road, additional parking, picnic tables, benches, a restroom and a new pedestrian bridge connecting Rogers Park to other islands. Construction could start as early as summer, with completion projected for late fall.

The goal is to create a more attractive and usable recreational area and re-create what Ski Beach once was, City Manager Al Minner said.

Ski Beach once was a place where kids learned how to water-ski and then grilled lunch, resident James Gentles said as he studied a diagram of the wide-ranging plans.

“I wanted to see what they’re going to do,” he said about the meeting. “I didn’t realize it was going to go this far. It looks like it could be real neat.”

Mary and Roger Clark grew up in Leesburg and now live in Palmora Park near Ski Beach.

“We remember when you could ski,” Mary said.

She thinks the changes will fit in with the renovated Kids Korner playground that debuted in July at Rogers Park.

“The area’s becoming more family-oriented,” Mary said. “I’d like it to be an area for all the people to enjoy.”

In December, the city created three beach areas around Venetian Cove to give boaters a place to beach their vessels. Residents raised safety concerns about the separation between boaters and swimmers, along with boat speeds in light of the City Commission’s recent temporary lifting of a no-wake zone.

Minner said he believes a natural separation between activities will occur around the beach areas. But a swimming area may need to be marked with buoys, added DC Maudlin, the city’s public works director.

The commission is expected to revisit the no-wake zone in October, Minner said.

“I think the commission had a lot of trepidation about lifting it, and I think the basic argument there was safety versus the economic development and bringing in activity, and that needed to be balanced,” he said.

A splash pad and pavilion are expected to open this spring at Rogers Park. The final phase, totaling about $4.1 million, will include a new or renovated community building. The city is using general fund reserves to pay for the Venetian Gardens projects, Minner said.

“This is one of many positive projects we have going in Leesburg that highlight the beauty and opportunities that are here,” Mayor Bob Bone Jr. said. “We’re going to do what we can to bring it back to life.”