Park officials and employees, volunteers and visitors, and state-level officials attended a dedication ceremony Thursday afternoon.

“We’re very excited at DCNR (Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) about this park and this project,” DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said. “It’s a big day. It’s gratifying for us when we can take care of the park and the forest.”

“We’re celebrating and cutting the ribbon on this project,” Dunn said. “It’s a celebration for the region.”

“This is a long-awaited time,” Park Manager Tyson Martin said. “It’s felt like many years, though it’s been just short of two,” Martin said.

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources speaks Thursday during a dedication ceremony at Chapman State Park formally concluding a two-year rehabilitation project.

Martin said he has notes regarding the project dating back to 2011. Ground was broken in September 2017 and the project included dredging, roadway improvements, and other changes along with rehabilitation of the dam and spillway.

“As I’ve said many times, it’s a short-term inconvenience for a long-term benefit,” Martin said. “We’re starting to see that benefit now.”

The completion of the Chapman project represents one step on what could be a long path for the department.

“We’re a big infrastructure agency,” Dunn said. “Like infrastructure everywhere, it fades out and needs to be replaced.”

She said there are 32 dams that are in both the high-hazard and structurally-deficient categories.

“These dams need to be taken care of,” she said. “We’ve fallen behind in our investment.”

“We have about a billion dollar need,” Dunn said. “That’s why it’s really gratifying to get a big project like this done. It was a good project. It really lifted the whole park in a number of ways.”

“This is a wonderful asset to Warren County and all of Pennsylvania,” State Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-65) said. “Thank you for all of your hard work.”

She also thanked Dunn for making the trip from Harrisburg.

“It’s always wonderful to see people from the administrations in Warren County,” Rapp said. “Our citizens take pride in the area and in being good stewards.”

The lake is open to fishing and boating. Swimming is still not allowed pending water quality test results.