Last Tuesday’s Park Board meeting had some exciting news for outdoor recreation fans — especially those that like old fashioned pedal bikes. An abandoned rail spur between the Northeast part of Minot and the South entrance to Minot Air Force Base will be repurposed towards a recreation and biking trail connecting Minot and the base.
At the meeting, the Park Board got the details on the project from Ward County Engineer Dana Larsen and entered into a joint powers agreement with the County, a necessary legal step required to move the process forward. Ward County Commissioners are expected to approve the agreement at their next regular meeting, at which point the project bidding process can begin. The total cost of improving the spur with a 4″ aggregate base is expected be ~$230k. The project is also made possible by the donation of more than $220k worth of material and engineering costs that will be absorbed by the county.
In other business before the Park Board:
- With thePark Board’s approval, the 2016 Boys High School Golf Tournament will be hosted in Minot at Souris Valley Golf Course.
- Members of Roosevelt Park’s Zoo Crew (nonprofit fundraising group that works on behalf of the zoo) presented the Park Board with rendering of an outdoor picnic shelter intended to sit on the site of the old office. The Park Board gave their support of the project by a vote of 4-1 that will allow the Zoo Crew to more formally explore the concept through a feasibility study and fundraising.
- Food Trucks will be allowed into the Parks provided they register with the Park District and are licensed by the Health District.
- The tedious job of adopting a personnel policy is drawing to a close. Park Board members approved a draft of the policy that formalizes policies regarding Park District staff.
- The Park Board entered the Park District into a Construction Management at Risk agreement with Rolac Construction of Minot. The agreement is in place for the construction of the third sheet at MAYSA Arena. The CMAR agreement will serve as a defacto insurance policy that construction costs will not exceed a certain price. That price has yet to be agreed upon.
- Supporters of Minot’s Disc Golf community will be meeting with Park Director Ron Merrit to get an update on various projects relating to the disc golf.
- A representative of Stonebridge Farms appeared before the board with an update on the green space that was incorporated into the development.
- The land for the proposed new golf course was again in discussion. Work has continued exploring ways to get water to the site and progress is being made. The state has agreed to make the sale of the land available to the Park District at the current appraised price through October. The intention of the Park Board is to decide on purchasing the land in September.
And finally, the Park Boards annual reorganisation took place with John Drady being appointed President and Nancy Beck being appointed Vice President of both the Park Board and the Minot Parks Foundation board.
