The entrance to Traer’s iconic Taylor Park pictured during a previous summer. A new open-air picnic shelter is planned for construction next month in the northwest corner of the park, across from the Traer United Methodist Church which is located at 512 Fourth Street. TELEGRAPH FILE PHOTO

TRAER – Taylor Park will soon be getting a new open-air picnic shelter – no reservation required.

During Traer Historical Museum’s annual meeting Thursday, March 26, Michelle Podhajsky, a member of the Taylor Park Landscaping & Beautification Committee and the museum’s 2026 Volunteer of the Year, provided an update on the latest efforts to “Polish Up Taylor Park.”

Per previous Telegraph reporting, the Polish Up Taylor Park project began in 2021 when Podhajsky’s committee contacted Iowa State University’s Community Design Lab for a comprehensive plan for potential improvements. The plan was completed two years later in May 2023 just prior to Traer’s Sesquicentennial celebration set for later that summer. In conjunction with the Sesquicentennial, the committee launched a fundraising campaign which received overwhelming support. Later that year, the committee hired RITLAND+KUIPER Landscape Architects to develop an overall site plan for the nearly 150-year-old park.

Since that time, completed projects and improvements include the addition of new playground equipment; new ornamental tree plantings along U.S. 63; new plantings in the northwest corner, near the driveway entrance and around the gazebo; and new siding, flooring and a stairway for the nearly 120-year-old gazebo.

In addition to Podhajsky, current committee members include president and financial officer Tracey Hulme, financial officer Nick Podhajsky, Patty Seuss, Pastor Mark Keefer, Shaun Kennedy, Curt Jensen, and Aaron and Tara Mennenga.

The northwest corner of Taylor Park. IMAGE COURTESY GOOGLE EARTH

“We currently work as a liaison group to the Traer City Council, and our board has established a donation account through the Traer Community Foundation,” Podhajsky said. “All project expenses are paid directly by the foundation and/or the City of Traer — no board members directly handle any funds for any of the projects that we’re undertaking. It’s all handled through disbursement from the Community Foundation and/or the city itself.”

In terms of the new open-air picnic shelter, Podhajsky said it will not require a reservation to use, in contrast to the existing Shelter House.

“There is an existing cement pad on the northwest corner (across from Traer United Methodist Church) that was originally planned for use as a skateboard park that’s no longer used for that anymore,” she explained. “Instead of it falling into disrepair and tearing it out, we had several people who were interested in having a place to picnic up there that didn’t cost money. So we have been investigating an open-air picnic shelter … open year-round, any time of day.”

The committee spent the last year procuring bids and writing grants for the project, Podhajsky said, before adding, “We were able to secure all of the grant funding that we needed within that year’s time.”

Funding was secured through the Traer Community Foundation, a local option sales tax (LOST) grant, MEMBERS1st Community Credit Union, the Guernsey Foundation, the McElroy Foundation, and the Iowa DNR’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) program.

The new open-air picnic shelter will roughly measure 36 by 30 feet — the size of the existing pad.

“Fingers crossed, we’re hoping the construction of this is completed by the end of May,” Podhajsky said.

For more information, including how to donate to future Taylor Park Landscaping & Beautification Committee’s efforts — everything from new restroom facilities to much-needed driveway repairs to sidewalk paths, additional play equipment, relocated basketball courts and more — visit traer.com/polishuptaylorpark.