The East Peoria Community Foundation and the City of East Peoria officially dedicated and opened Levee Park and Splash Pad to the community at a public Ribbon Cutting on Tuesday, September 3. The splash pad was open through the end of September, weather permitting. It will reopen next Spring for supervised children from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. 

The last item to be completed is a Monarch Waystation near the center of the park, just off the splash pad. You might ask, what is a Monarch Waystation? They are places that provide resources necessary for monarch butterflies to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. The Foundation is  excited to contribute to the survival of these beautiful butterflies. 

The East Peoria Community Foundation is pleased to provide this $3 million park to the community without raising taxes. The park was funded entirely by generous community donations and state grants. The City of East Peoria will forever own and maintain this community green space for the benefit of East Peoria residents.

“Levee Park was designed to be family-friendly, accessible to all, and to accommodate daily activities, such as walking, gathering, and outdoor picnicking. With so many great restaurants in the area, we anticipate people will pick up lunch nearby and enjoy it in the park. And now with the splash pad, I think we can look forward to some little wet feet,” said East Peoria Community Foundation President Sue Portscheller.

The Foundation is grateful to Mayor John Kahl and the City Commissioners for committing to fund both the routine maintenance and capital maintenance of Levee Park. 

Levee Park was completed over three phases. After first developing the beautiful Reading Garden, the Foundation added a performance stage, a large multi-purpose plaza, venues for markets and festivals in an open multipurpose lawn, restrooms, lighting, irrigation, a splash pad, tables and benches with sunshades, and other unseen infrastructure. 

The park is a beautiful transformation of a 1½ acre green space in East Peoria adjacent to the East Peoria Civic Plaza. The idea of a community park started in 2014, when the East Peoria Community Foundation was established with the goal of making East Peoria a better place, and providing a channel for local philanthropy. A small group of volunteers have been working for the last 10 years to make this park a respite in the center of the city. 

The East Peoria Levee District hosts many events with thousands of guests. Set right in the heart of the Levee District, Levee Park will draw even more people into our downtown district to spur economic activity and growth, to reconnect and beautify our downtown, and provide the infrastructure needed for community activities and events. East Peoria is known for its wonderful bicycle and walking trails. Levee Park fits right in. It just takes a little over four trips around the park to equal a mile!

It’s the Foundation’s belief that we can all appreciate the value of parks and public spaces for the community to enjoy. What’s special and unique in this case is that Levee Park will be the anchor to East Peoria’s new and thriving downtown. It not only anchors our beautiful new downtown, but it embodies the new iconic face of East Peoria – green, growing, and family centered.

Each year, the State provides grants to help communities prosper. East Peoria has this beautiful park thanks to the help of State Senator David Koehler and former State Representative Mike Unes. Their help was necessary in obtaining  DCEO and IDNR OSLAD grants. Thanks for bringing money home to East Peoria!

Portscheller also thanked generous major donors. The Foundation’s largest private gift to date is from the Bahnfleth family. It was the desire of Ray and Peg Bahnfleth to leave a major gift of $250,000 to the community they so loved. The Foundation is thankful to their heirs who fulfilled that wish. 

Secondly, Portscheller said the Foundation can’t thank Gary and Kay Uftring and the Uftring Auto Group enough for their generous monetary contribution, but also for creating the exciting raffle in 2023 of a gorgeous 70th Anniversary, Limited-Edition, 2023 Corvette. With the donation of that fabulous car, an amazing $250,000 was raised through the raffle. This exciting event really kicked fundraising in gear!  

Other major donors include Fondulac Bank, A Division of Morton Community Bank; Fondulac District Library; the Mamer Family; CEFCU; Cullinan Properties, Ltd; Former Mayor Jim Spinder Family; John Bearce; Mike Graham; LS Building Products; Par A Dice Hotel Casino; Dennis and Judy Triggs; Sikich; Oberlander Electric; Costco; and Mike Whalen.

Please enjoy Levee Park and the new Splash Pad. It’s not too late to help contribute to the park. You can donate any amount at the Foundation’s website www.EastPeoriaCommunityFoundation.org.