Nov 15, 2004 By Angie Santello 3 min read

MENALLEN TWP. – Changes taking place at the 55-acre Dunlap Creek Lake Park over the past two years have made the popular Fayette County fishing spot a catch for area residents, according to Al Packan, chairman of the Dunlap Lake Task Force Committee. New swing sets with mulch beneath were recently installed near several pavilions located around the lake, offering a swinging treat to children who are a the lake, possibly picnicking or fishing with mom and dad.

The swing sets were purchased with a grant, which was written by the county’s planning, zoning and community development office.

“It’s so wonderful,” said Packan. “I get a lot of gratitude from seeing things happen out here.”

Among the improvements, workers converted a brush-covered waterhole, across the street from the main lake, into a children’s pond.

Thanks to a $2,000 matching grant from the Community Foundation of Fayette County, a student volunteer constructed new benches situated around the lake for a school project.

A boat launch area has been vastly improved with county funds.

Bathrooms were refurbished.

Workers cleared brush from around the lake to make it more accessible.

And, a grant of $10,000, from the Fayette Enterprise Community fund, afforded the site with a new parking lot attached by a 1,600-foot handicap-accessible paved walkway running parallel with lakeside.

“Over the past few years, the lake now has a children’s pond, activities for children, a handicap accessible parking area and a handicap walkway that it never had before,” Packan said. “The image of the park and lake is really positive now.”

And the improvements don’t end there.

Another $5,000 from the state Department of Community and Economic Development will be used to expand the lakeside handicap-accessible walkway.

“We hope to have a walkway running around the lake in the spring of 2005,” Packan commented.

Menallen Township supervisors have agreed to provide in-kind services whereby the township will supply machinery for township workers to begin excavating the walkway site, Packan said.

“We want the lake to be entirely accessible to all people, including the handicap,” Packan said.

“It’s so they can catch fish from their wheelchair,” he added.

Packan said it has been a shared effort among committee members, fishermen and county and township officials that promoted positive changes and led to the beautification of the lake and land.

“With all the agencies involved, things are moving forward,” Packan said. “Not only are we trying to improve fishing, but picnicking, also.”

The new swings are an example of that, he said.

Committee members work with county officials, particularly those in charge of grants and parks, to learn more about future grant opportunities and to relay their expectations of further park improvements.

“We take our needs of the lake to the county and they try to best meet those needs,” Packan said.

It is the county’s responsibility to maintain the lake, while the state Fish and Boat Commission stocks fish and prescribes fishing regulations, Packan said.

The Dunlap Lake Task Force Committee formed two years ago.

Since then, improvement after improvement has gone on at the lake.

Packan said a long-term goal of the task force is to make Dunlap Creek Lake “one of the finest recreation areas in Fayette County.

“We’re in a great location, minutes away from Matthew Drive where things are happening now, and it is a beautiful park and lake that is bringing people in from other places,” Packan said. “Counties such as Greene, Washington and Allegheny are well represented here.”

Committee members are: Packan; Robert “Tweety” Yatsko, Menallen Township supervisor; Scott Opley, waterway patrolman; Wendell and Joyce Rollison; and Arlen Robinson.