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Terrace Park council: community garden on hold as Duke utility work may use proposed site
Summary
Council members heard that a proposed 17,000-sq.-ft. community garden in the Village of Terrace Park has strong resident interest but is likely delayed because Duke plans to use the site for staging during a multi-year gas-main replacement projected for 2025–2027.
Regina Sharp told the Village of Terrace Park council on Aug. 13 that a committee meeting on July 11 produced strong resident interest in creating a community garden on a roughly 17,000-square-foot parcel in the Environmental Services area.
“We got, you know, 15 plus people that came back and said [they were] very interested in knowing more about it and being involved,” Sharp said, describing the site as overgrown and containing old bridge debris that could limit what can be planted or built there. Sharp said the committee would look for a core group of residents to ‘own’ the project moving forward.
Sharp warned that a scheduled Duke project — initially described by staff in the meeting as work on sewer lines but clarified as a gas-main replacement — is expected to run in Terrace Park from 2025 through 2027 and could require the proposed garden site for equipment and material staging. “It’s probably gonna end up being delayed till 2026 or 2027,” Sharp said.
Police Chief and Village Administrator Gerald Hayhoe confirmed the utility work is a planned gas-main replacement. “They expect to…start in ’25 and…be completed by ’27,” Hayhoe said, adding Duke plans to divide the work into four sectors and that crews may trench or bore depending on conditions. He said equipment and materials staging will be necessary and that the village offered space so trucks and supplies would not be parked on neighborhood streets.
Hayhoe told the council the contractor will coordinate with the village, take steps to minimize street damage and restore surfaces where feasible, and that crews will need to enter homes to turn on pilot lights or complete connections — work residents may request an officer to accompany if they feel uncomfortable.
Because the Duke project may occupy the Environmental Services parking area while it stages materials and trucks, the community-garden timeline is uncertain. Sharp said a fall meeting with interested residents could be scheduled to develop ideas and gauge whether a core group will take responsibility for the project once the site becomes available.
The council did not vote on the garden or take formal action; the discussion was an informational update and direction to continue community outreach.
The next steps: organizers plan to contact residents who expressed interest, and village staff will continue coordinating with Duke and posting updates on the village website.
