Eastborough's South Park Pond Is Going Down Again This Winter. What's Happening in Both City Parks?

The waterfall at South Park is off, and it will stay quiet until the pond can be drained in February 2027. That will be the second February in a row that Eastborough lowers the pond. The first time was for a $44,211.44 rebuild of the pond's edge. This time it is a repair estimated at about $3,000 to the waterfall's intake.

Both drains follow the same calendar. At North Park, the timing comes from a different source: a federal permit that has to come through before any dirt moves. City Hall runs both parks on these outside schedules, and they decide what the Eastborough parks look like this winter.

February is when the water comes down

The city's 2026 minutes show South Park's pond work taking up most of a year:

The edge job was planned to expose the pond's footings. At the January 27, 2026 council meeting, Isaac Krumme of Tree Top told the council the crew would lower the water level to get at the footings and replace stone where needed. He estimated the work at three to five days. When the item first came up in December, the minutes noted two large stones that needed replacing.

The water came down in February. By late April the rock work was done, and at the May meeting the pond was reported almost full. From the tabled vote in December to a nearly full pond in May took about five months.

The waterfall is next. At the September 22, 2026 meeting, Mayor Stacy Moore told the council the intake needs repair and the waterfall is offline. The minutes also say why it isn't being fixed sooner:

"The pond will need to be drained so we will wait until Feb next year. The repair will be about $3,000."

A $3,000 repair waits five months because the pond has to be emptied to reach the intake, and the city has already shown it prefers to empty the pond in late winter.

Low water is when the extra jobs get done

The February 2026 drawdown did more than expose the footings. In March, while the water was still low for Tree Top's rock wall repairs, the council took the chance to clean out the small pond too. The minutes record two quotes for the job. Reddi Industries quoted $11,830 for the small pond. Landscape Solutions quoted $8,000 and would also clear the creek area up to the bridge. The council approved Landscape Solutions.

So the cheaper quote covered more ground, and the work was scheduled for a time when the water was already out of the way. The same reasoning is behind the February 2027 date for the waterfall. Draining the pond takes effort, so the city lines up the jobs that need it.

For anyone who walks South Park on a regular route, this means February 2027 will probably look like February 2026: lower water, exposed stone, and crews near the pond. The first drawdown took until about May to refill. The intake job is much smaller, but the minutes give no refill date for it.

What the restoration left behind on the bank

Visitors to South Park can already see some of what the $44,211.44 bought. Along with the stonework, the January approval paid for plantings. Krumme told the council he wanted plantings that would keep people back from the pond's edge, and council members discussed which junipers to use. The June minutes report that Tree Top had done some plantings at South Park.

The lawn is next. In September the parks commissioner, Richard Hostert, walked South Park with Tree Top and found areas that need overseeding and aeration. The council approved that work for up to $6,000. All of this sits on top of the base contract the council approved in November 2025: $3,490.91 a month, or $41,890.94 a year, for irrigation, landscaping and pond treatment.

Residents are also asking for things. At the same September meeting, a resident requested a dog station at the east end of South Park, by the walking path. The minutes record the request, but no vote.

A pond has been part of Eastborough from the beginning. The city's history page says the original developers planned the tract with "winding drives, broad lawns, parks and a lake," and its photo gallery includes an old image of the pond. Keeping that kind of water feature in good shape now means a contract, a lot of plantings, and yearly drain dates.

North Park moves at permit speed

North Park is at the city's north end. South Park is at the southern edge next to Kellogg. North Park is earlier in the process, and the step that sets its pace is a permit rather than a design.

The mayor gave the first numbers in February 2026. She was working with the engineering firm MKEC and the floodplain manager on the paperwork needed to upgrade the park. She told the council the permit would take several months, would cost an estimated $15,000 to $30,000, and that dirt work would run about $75,000.

In June the council made it official. The minutes say the North Park upgrade involves a USACE permit, meaning the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The council voted unanimously to have MKEC handle the permit work for up to $4,000. The city's homepage lists the project under "North Park Upgrades," with "Creek Mitigation" and "Strategic Planning" as its two parts.

The design work runs alongside the permit. The September minutes put it this way:

"Working with Isaac to get a plan for north park renovation and hopefully have available in November for the community to see the plans"

So the same Tree Top contact who presented the South Park pond work is helping shape North Park. The agenda for the October 27 meeting listed an item called "Core Permit/MKEC." The permit was still on the council's list a month before residents were supposed to see plans.

Compare the costs. South Park's edge restoration, the costliest pond item the council approved this year, came to $44,211.44. North Park's early estimates come to $90,000 to $105,000 for the permit plus dirt work, before any landscaping. That gap helps explain why North Park has spent this year on paperwork and planning while South Park got crews.

Where to see the plans, and when

The hoped-for November presentation of the North Park plans falls just ahead of the regular November council meeting. In September the council discussed moving the November and December meetings for the holidays and kept November on its usual fourth Tuesday, which this year is November 24. Regular meetings begin at 5:30 p.m. at Eastborough City Hall, #1 Douglas. When residents asked in September about watching meetings remotely, the mayor said council meetings are open to the public and residents may attend. The December meeting date was on the October agenda for discussion.

Agendas and minutes go up on the city's meeting minutes page. Every date and dollar figure above comes from those documents.

For winter walks before then, the rules are simple. Under Ordinance No. 857, adopted in 1983, all Eastborough parks are closed from midnight to 6 a.m.

Here is what to expect at each park in the coming months:

1. November: North Park renovation plans are expected to be shared. The council meets November 24.
2. Through winter: The South Park waterfall stays offline while the intake waits for repair.
3. February 2027: The South Park pond is drained for the intake repair, estimated at about $3,000.
4. After the drain: The pond refills. Last year's drawdown went from February until about May before the pond was reported almost full.

One more item from the September agenda affects anyone walking or driving near the east entrance. The council approved Cillessen & Sons, for up to $7,000, to remove conflicting markings and restripe about 350 feet of westbound Huntington as a single lane. It put off slurry-sealing Huntington from Woodlawn to the east edge of town until next year.

At Pam & Ashley, we follow Eastborough's park and street projects because they change what a block looks like, and when, more than a listing photo shows. If you're planning a sale near South Park or North Park and wondering how a drained pond or a renovation schedule fits into your timing, book a free consultation and we'll go through the calendar with you.