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New, improved parks

Minot Park District lays out plans for park system improvements

Jill Schramm/MDN A warming house upgrade and rink repairs are in the plans for improvements at Polaris Park in north Minot.

More trails, golf facilities and playgrounds could be in Minot’s future.

The Minot Park District has plans for new and improved parks that would add to the recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. The plans include cross-country, mountain bike and multi-use trails on property near Maysa Arena, a neighborhood park near the former Jefferson School in east Minot and a new 18-hole golf course and recreation area.

Parks Director Ron Merritt said the park district is waiting on final approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for its plan for trails on a former Superfund site near Maysa. The city owns more than 60 acres and the park district has 20 acres, which includes the Maysa property, in that area.

The project would include a cross-country running course that could be used by the public or by cross-country teams. The course would be suitable for holding cross-country meets.

Merritt said there is interest from mountain biking enthusiasts in assisting with designing a mountain bike trail. A multi-use path and 18-hole disc golf course are proposed, and Merritt sees potential for a sledding hill eventually, too.

“There’s a lot of neat terrain in this area. These are not super-expensive projects either,” Merritt said. “This is a huge outdoor recreation area that won’t be at a huge expense.”

Part of what makes the area so attractive is the presence of the Maysa Arena, which provides existing infrastructure such as restrooms and parking.

Across town, a concept plan has been developed for the Jefferson Park, located south of the former elementary school, that includes a dog park, multi-use sports court, restrooms, playground and parking. There’s also an option for a skate park.

Merritt said development of the park is a year or two away, but it is a large step forward for a piece of property the park district has owned for many years.

The park district also owns the overlook property on the east side of Broadway, south of the airport. Merritt said the park district wants to create a park area with picnic shelter, restrooms and other amenities that take advantage of the view. That project still is in the planning stage.

The park district is preparing to move forward with a new 18-hole golf course west of the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass. Having purchased the 240 acres about a year and a half ago, the park district is working with architects to design the course and associated recreational amenities.

“The setting out there is so beautiful and so natural,” said Elly DesLauriers, director of marketing and development for the park district. “We want to keep with that theme. We want to have some really cool features out there, but we want the nature, the beauty of it, to really stay the same.”

Some of the recreational features might include trails, a tubing hill, a playground and outdoor skating rink.

“The end goal of this project is truly for all our citizens, whether they are golfers or wildlife enthusiasts or just a family, to get out and enjoy this piece of land because it is beautiful and we want everybody to be able to use it,” DesLauriers said.

Merritt said the park district has enough money set aside to begin work. Getting a nine-hole course in place might be an initial step in the overall process. The plan, once the new course opens, is to close the nine holes at the nearby, existing Souris Valley Golf Course that have propensity to flood frequently. The would leave the existing course’s remaining nine holes open for play.

Another park district project is a second phase in the construction of a multi-use path built in 2015 near the south end of the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass West. With the construction of Phase II of Woodland Trail, the park district would have almost three miles of natural surface trails in that area.

Merritt said the additional trail will be a mowed grass trail on the edge of Souris Valley Golf Course. In the winter, it could be groomed for cross-country skiing. The Woodland Trail would run along the Souris River and a dead loop, with a floating bridge across the dead loop in the summer.

Grants from Minot Area Community Foundation, North Dakota Heritage Fund and Recreation Trails Program of the North Dakota Department of Transportation will help pay for the project.

The park district also has plans for upgrades at Polaris Park in north Minot. Among the changes are improvements to alleviate playground water problems, gut and renovate a rink warming house, update a T-ball field, replace boards on the hockey rink and enlarge a parking lot. Another piece of the plan involves construction of a multi-use building that could be rented to the public. The longer range plan calls for additional multi-use trail, Merritt said.

Other activities coming up in the next year or two include a new trail connection in west Minot with a crossing under 16th Street and redoing the parking lot at the zoo, where construction on a new cat habitat also is set to get underway. The parking lot at the soccer complex is on schedule for paving work this summer, and the expansion of parking areas at Oak Park is possible this year.

Along with plans for park-owned property, the park district is working with the city on a downtown gathering place.

Future goals include completing a parks master plan, replacing the aging Roosevelt Park swimming pool slide, more trail updates, playground upgrades in Oak and Roosevelt parks and developing neighborhood parks and greenways on land dedicated by developers in northwest and southeast Minot.

Merritt said the park board has been preparing the district financially to take on these types of projects without burdening taxpayers. Bonding is an option in some cases, particularly those projects such as the golf course, which has a revenue stream. Grants and partnerships with recreational groups are helping advance projects, too.

The park board is conscious of the cost of maintaining the city’s park system and has been thoughtful in how much it takes on, Merritt said.

“For the things we have planned right now, it’s not going to be a huge operational expense,” he said.

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