By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Board’s facilities committee has recommended a policy that would keep the Dunn County Recreational Park off the chopping block for the time being.
The facilities committee at a special meeting March 31 approved sending the policy to the executive committee, which in turn would send the policy to the Dunn County Board for consideration, that reads, in part, “Dunn County is committed to retaining the Dunn County Recreational Park …”
The county’s finances are not good, and they are not going to get better, said Don Kuether, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the facilities committee.
At a special meeting of the county board several days earlier on March 29 concerning a capital improvement plan, Kuether noted, county board members were asked to review the priorities they had placed on county departments and facilities two years earlier, with a 1 being something the county board would keep, a 2 being something that could go either way, and 3 being something the board would consider eliminating.
The facilities committee should consider putting a priority on the Rec Park — is it a priority to the overall primary mission of Dunn County? he asked.
“It’s what we need to do, It’s what the county manager is looking for,” said Charles Maves, county board supervisor from Boyceville and chair of the facilities committee.
“When push comes to shove, what gets eliminated? That’s the bottom line … if there’s not enough money, something has to go,” he said.
The question is whether the Dunn County Rec Park is more of liability or is it an asset — does it make money for the county or does it cost more to maintain? said Tim Niehoff, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the facilities committee.
In the absence of the county’s chief financial officer to answer the question better, Maves said he would suspect that the Dunn County Rec Park does not make any money for the county even though some of the facilities are leased to other entities.
The Red Cedar Racing Association leases and maintains the Red Cedar Speedway at the Rec Park, and the Menomonie Youth Hockey Association also leases what is the commercial exhibits building at the Dunn County Fair for a hockey arena.
What is the value to Dunn County residents? What is the value of intangibles? Maves asked, adding, “How do you put a price tag on happiness and a smile on a kid’s face?”
Plan
“The issue is how can we develop a Dunn County Rec Park plan that serves needs of the various current and future users?” asked Bob Colson, Dunn County planner and zoning administrator.
If Dunn County is going to keep the Rec Park, then a concerted effort is needed to develop a plan and to develop a way to implement the goals and objectives, he said.
“Unless the group is ready to say, ‘No, we should fold just fold up our tent and walk away’ …(the proposed policy states) the county is committed to retaining the park,” Colson said.
The policy should be adopted, and then the facilities committee can prioritize the Rec Park, he said.
Developing a plan for the Rec Park does not mean the county is committed to keeping it forever — only just until the Dunn County Board decides on how to to use it differently or how to improve it, Colson said.
Dunn County does not have a policy for the Rec Park, and the reason for the special facilities committee meeting was to consider a policy to forward to the county board, Maves said.
Policy
According to the proposed policy, “Dunn County is committed to retaining the Dunn County Recreational Park as a multi-use, public amenity and property that accommodates the annual Dunn County Fair, the Menomonie Youth Hockey Association, the Red Cedar Raceway and a variety of other compatible public and private activities and events in a clean, attractive, safe and accessible environment.”
Implementation techniques include developing and adopting a Dunn County Rec Park plan “to set forth a vision for the future use.”
Following the adoption of a Rec Park plan, Dunn County will “seek to implement the goals, objectives and recommendations by — A. regular reference to the plan and evaluation of the consequences of proposed uses on the vision of the plan — B. actively seeking opportunities to implement plan recommendations for existing and proposed uses and site improvements.”
The Rec Park plan would be re-evaluated and updated once every five years.
Suggestions
Prior to the policy discussion, Michael Rogers, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the facilities committee, had submitted some suggestions pertaining to the Rec Park.
One of suggestions included selling the Red Cedar Speedway to the Red Cedar Racing Association, selling the facility used by the Menomonie Youth Hockey Association to the association, perhaps selling the remainder of the land to another buyer, and then using the money to develop a new Rec Park on land owned by the county close to the Dunn County Judicial Center.
The county owns 30 acres by the judicial center and the highway department with another 10 acres of land that could be used for parking, Rogers said.
Since Dunn County already owns the land, the county could have a new Rec Park with very little additional expense, he said.
The buildings could be used in the winter by the highway department to store equipment, Rogers said.
Airport
The problem with the idea of developing a Rec Park by the judicial center is the Menomonie Municipal Airport, Colson said.
The issue is with the airport overlay zoning, which does not allow any public gatherings. The land could be used as a park, but not as a park that actively gathers crowds of people for specific events. A commercial use would be allowed but no gatherings of the public, he explained.
Dunn County has previously considered selling off the Rec Park and relocating it outside of Menomonie, but there would not be enough revenue generated from selling the land and the buildings to fund a new Rec Park, Colson said.
A study conducted to consider moving the Rec Park concluded Dunn County is better off keeping the Rec Park and reorganizing it for better use, he said.
Parking at the fair “is a big deal,” and the land by the judicial center and highway department could be used for parking at the Dunn County Fair to free up more space at the Rec Park, but the issue would be providing transportation from the parking area to the fair, Colson said.
Following a discussion of several ideas to make certain activities work better, such as switching the location of the racing pits and the horse area, Ron Score, county board supervisor from Boyceville and a member of the facilities committee, asked if the Red Cedar Speedway and the youth hockey arena had been part of the original plan for the Rec Park.
Although county staff members have looked, no formalized master plan for the Rec Park has been found, Colson said.
The buildings at the Rec Park were built as they were needed and were put where they fit. Initially, it was only the Dunn County Rec Park, and hockey and automobile racing came much later, he said.
The policy for the Dunn County Rec Park will now be forwarded to the executive committee, and the executive committee is expected to forward the policy to the Dunn County Board for consideration.
