In the early 1960's, Bethalto, Illinois, established a 17-acre sewage lagoon on a 21-acre site in the northwest part of the community, but after rapid growth in the mid to late 1960's the village abandoned the lagoon and connected to the Alton Sewer Treatment Plant in 1972. The lagoon then sat unused for 25 years until Mayor Steve Bryant requested in 1997 that it be drained and cleaned and urged the village board to begin a park master plan emphasizing recreation, family parkland, green space, multi-use pathways, and nature areas. With the board's support, Bethalto sought outside funding to transform the blighted property without major village capital costs. After the site was drained in the spring of 1997 and left undisturbed for several years, the village secured a 2001 Madison County Community Development block grant to clean up the site and fill the old lagoon, creating a new 4-acre fishing lake while leveling the rest for park development, and also obtained a $50,000 Illinois First grant through State Representative Steve Davis for picnic pavilions, playground equipment, and other essentials. Excavation and pavilion installation proceeded in the summer of 2003, grass was planted, and trees donated by the Bethalto Boys and Girls Club through the St. Louis 2004 Grant Program were planted with help from club youth and Public Works employees. Additional 2003 funding from the Madison County Park and Recreation Commission paid for landscaping and nearly one mile of multi-use pathways, more than 100 trees were planted, and a later $19,000 grant completed the playground area with rubberized mulch. The former lagoon site has been transformed into Culp Lane Park, a family park with picnic areas, playgrounds, a fishing lake, and multi-use pathways.