The seven candidates for three open seats on the Minot Park Board all seem to have good ideas, but their combined wish list could get very pricey.

Ideas that came up in candidates’ responses to a Minot Daily News questionnaire included new splash pads, an indoor swimming pool complex, new and upgraded neighborhood parks, more basketball courts, softball diamonds – the list goes on.

To be fair, some of those ideas have been around for years, and the candidates are presumably just relating what people tell them they would like to see in the parks.

And, the candidates are not oblivious to the challenges of balancing what people say they want versus what taxpayers are willing to pay for.

Candidate Stephen Henderson put it this way: “We need activities to keep young families in our community. With that said, we also need to do our best to keep taxes affordable.”

Can we really have it both ways? That will indeed be a challenge.

We’ll just have to trust all of the candidates who said they will be cautious with spending if elected; we see no reason not to take any of them at their word.

But we can all vow to hold them accountable, which is our responsibility.

As stated already, the candidates have obviously been listening to the people. In that we are pleased. However, we’re not certain every voice is being heard. There is definitely room for improvement in the management of Minot’s parks, as one letter to the editor in today’s edition points out.

The Minot Park District has expanded greatly in the past 20 years. It’s big, it’s grand and we all love our parks. But maybe the new board should take a hard look at the district’s known long-term maintenance costs and its potential expenses first thing. The wish list can wait.