OAK CREEK — Since the nonprofit group Bender Park Friends was formed in March 2025, volunteers have been working to improve the park.
"Picking up trash, sweeping, pulling weeds, things of that nature. Just making the park more comfortable and beautiful," Patti Andersen, a founding member of Bender Park Friends, said.
She's noticed their work has already made a visible difference.
"You can see in the park the changes; people are spending more time in the park," Andersen said.
They're also advocating for a permanent fix to a long-term problem for the park's boat launch.
Since it was built in 1999, the boat launch area has had a recurring problem with sediment buildup. Every few years, the water becomes too shallow for many boats, effectively closing the launch.
"Depending on the time of year and how much water was in the lake, [there was] anywhere from 12 to 6 inches of water, so not many boats could get through," Chad Griswold, a member of Bender Park Friends and frequent boat launch user, said.
That was the situation before the launch was dredged in spring 2026 at a cost of more than $1 million. Griswold said dredging is not a lasting solution.
"It really is a temporary fix," said Griswold. "It's the fourth time it's been dredged since the boat launch has been created, so there is a design flaw with the way the waves and the sediment wash into this boat launch."
Bender Park Friends is advocating for a new break wall to be built.
"The break wall can be reconfigured so this doesn’t happen or this doesn’t happen as frequently," said Griswold.
WATCH: Bender Park Friends advocate for permanent fix for boat launch after latest dredging
The group circulated a petition asking for federal support for the project.
"We put a petition out to our U.S. representative Bryan Steil to help find some federal funding for this. In a matter of I think less than two months we got 422 signatures," Griswold said.
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil has sent a letter of support for a Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant Milwaukee County applied for.
In a statement, Steil's office wrote, “After meeting with county officials on the Bender Park issue last year, I sent a letter of support on behalf of their grant application earlier this year. My office remains available to ensure that state and federal agencies appropriately process and consider any grant applications. I look forward to continuing to work with Milwaukee County to explore all possible options for Bender Park, including county, state, and federal programs.”
Milwaukee County Supervisor Steve Taylor, who represents the 17th District and serves on the Capital Improvements Committee, said federal funding is needed given the county's financial constraints.
"The solution is a brand new break wall and that’s seven... eight million dollars when that happens. The county has half a billion dollars in deferred maintenance, so it is on a laundry list of projects that need to take place," Taylor said.
Taylor supports a new break wall and is working to move things forward.
"I want to get the designs into the 2027 budget because if we have the plans, and they are shovel ready, that does help when they look at grants," Taylor said.
Taylor said he has not yet heard back on the status of the grant application. If approved, the grant would cover 75% of the project costs and the county would have to pay for the rest, according to Taylor.
"If we can get 75% of 8 million, that would be pretty nice," said Taylor. "We’d figure out the rest."
While the push for a new break wall continues, Bender Park Friends is keeping busy with other projects. They meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. and welcome new volunteers.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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