Business View Civil and Municipal l January 2023

26 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 great business and restaurant community, and plenty of outdoor recreational opportunities. As the Town’s permanent population grows, steps are being taken to help bring more seasonal visitors back to the Town to support new and improved infrastructure. Not only that but Cedar Lake is also only 30-40 minutes from Lake Michigan and Indiana Dunes National Park. All of these conveniences and proactive community efforts have led Cedar Lake to be named one of the 10 fastest-growing towns in Indiana. The dredging of the bottom of Cedar Lake is a decades-long project that is coming to fruition. It has never been dredged in its history but a settlement dewatering facility was built as part of an initial $2.2 million project. The facility will help support the ability to separate dredged material from lake water. A $6 million contract was awarded to a third-party company that will remove up to 500,000 cubic yards of material over the next several years. Additionally, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources will fund a fish kill and restock following the dredging with the goal of restoring the lake to its original condition. “We’re calling it a lake ecosystem because we want to return it back to the condition it was in thousands of years ago,” says Salatas. “It has been a goal of his community for a long time.” On top of that, community leaders want to give members of the public greater access to this glacial lake. While houses and other residential properties are developed around it, the city purchased five to six lots that provide access to the lake utilizing green space. The Cedar Lake Parks & Recreation Department already maintains several parks in the Town. These include Potawatomi Park, Bartlett Park, and Kiwanis Park. Lemon Lake County Park is located just northeast of the Town. But with even more green space, greater opportunities will arise for residents and visitors. Other features around the lake include a beach, several areas with benches and pavilions, and more. Providing this access