Alton Parks and Rec Director Promises "More Routine Maintenance" at Gordon Moore Koi Pond
Social media posts have pointed to the overgrowth at Gordon Moore Park's koi pond. Parks and Rec Director Lyndsey Younger says maintenance is underway.
ALTON - The koi pond at Gordon Moore Park in Alton is currently overgrown, but Parks and Recreation Executive Director Lyndsey Younger says it’s going to be back in good shape soon.
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“We didn’t purposely intend for it to get to that point,” Younger said. “We’re fixing it. We want it to look good, too. That’s one of our beautiful parks. Those volunteers spent many hours and time and effort building that for the park, so we appreciate it, and we’re going to do what we can to make it right.”
Younger said the Parks Maintenance employees maintain the koi pond alongside the Park Supervisor.
She explained that, according to the Park Supervisor, the pond has not been stocked with koi for “four or five years.” Their goal was to restock the pond “after they got the lily pads under control.” Younger said the lily pads often overgrow, so the employees work to remove them as needed.
With renewed conversations about the pond following social media posts about its overgrowth, Younger said the Alton Parks and Recreation Department plans to reach out to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for “some assistance and maybe some guidance.”
The pond was treated last week, which should clear up the duckweed. Additionally, a few Parks Maintenance employees will begin taking down the aquatic weeds around the edges of the pond. Younger noted that they hope to instill “more routine maintenance” at the koi pond going forward.
“It’s a specialty pond,” she said. “It takes a lot of care and assistance, and it hasn’t looked like that all year. These past couple of months, the algae comes on a lot faster than we could get it to go away.”
She added that the Parks and Recreation Department is committed to fixing up the pond, and she pointed to many positive changes that have come to Gordon Moore over the past month. As winter approaches, Younger emphasized that the pond will be in better shape soon.
“It’s not like it’s been neglected all year. It shouldn’t have gotten to that point, but we’re going to take care of it and fix it,” she added. “Hopefully, moving forward, we'll try to prevent it from looking like that.”
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