In September 2013, catastrophic flooding occurred along the Front Range of Colorado with Boulder County being the worst hit. The Town of Lyons, located along the St. Vrain River, became isolated by the floodwaters, and ended up being one of the most heavily damaged towns. The flood caused serious damage to buildings and development along the creek.

Lyons’ parks system was mostly decimated. Since the town relies on its parks and trails system to attract visitors for various festivals held there, recovery efforts needed to be made to restore and improve the recreation areas, as well as mitigation measures to protect the creek and surrounding developments.

The LaVern M. Johnson Park Phase 2 (formerly known as Meadow Park) renovation included a new park restroom/shower building, new picnic shelter, concessions building, renovation of existing restroom/covered picnic shelter, and restoration of existing stone fireplace structure. This renovation also included extensive use of LED lighting fixtures in parking areas as well as structures.