Taylor Park’s new open-air picnic shelter pictured on Friday, Oct. 2, in Traer. The ‘Polish Up Taylor Park’ project is spearheaded by the Taylor Park Landscaping & Beautification Committee in the northwest corner of the park. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

TRAER – Traer’s Taylor Park will soon be home to a new space to gather.

“Our new open-air picnic shelter in Taylor Park is taking shape!” Michelle Podhajsky, a member of the Taylor Park Landscaping & Beautification Committee, told the newspaper in an email last Friday. “The committee had hoped construction would begin in May, but material delays pushed back the schedule.”

The shelter is being built by Cedar Ridge Construction on an existing cement pad located in the park’s northwest corner across from the Traer United Methodist Church. The site was originally planned for use as a skateboard park, per previous newspaper reporting.

“The shelter is one part of the committee’s larger, phased Polish Up Taylor Park initiative to improve spaces throughout the park for everyone to enjoy,” Podhajsky further explained. “[It] will be outfitted with picnic tables, providing a welcoming place to enjoy lunch, gather with friends and family, and host events – all without a rental fee.”

A joint venture of both the park committee and the City of Traer, funding for the project was secured through a variety of grants, including from the Traer Community Foundation, City of Traer (local option sales tax), Guernsey Charitable Foundation, McElroy Trust, and the Iowa DNR’s REAP (Resource Enhancement and Protection) program. MEMBERS1st Community Credit Union also provided funding.

Five curved wooden beams support the new open-air picnic shelter in Taylor Park. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

When the newspaper visited the project site last Friday afternoon, the wood structure was still a work-in-progress. The elegant shelter features five curved beams, each meeting in an arched peak under the roof.

In contrast to the existing Taylor Park Shelter House located at the top of the park’s central hill near the playground, the new picnic shelter will not require a reservation to use.

In addition to the picnic shelter, the park committee is gearing up to begin a landscaping project this month, focusing on the areas in and around the municipal pool. Like the new shelter, the landscaping has been made possible through grant funding and is part of the Polish Up Taylor Park initiative which began back in 2021 ahead of Traer’s Sesquicentennial celebration in the summer of 2023.

The open-air picnic shelter is expected to be completed sometime in mid-October.

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.

The picnic shelter is located directly across Highway 63 from Traer United Methodist Church. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER