Village of Colfax discusses Stuart Park campground plans, approves cutting trees
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — If all goes according to plan, the Village of Colfax may have a new campground within the next several years.
The parks committee has met and has discussed turning Stuart Park into a campground, said Jeff Prince, village trustee and chair of the parks committee, at the Colfax Village Board’s April 25 meeting.
Stuart Park is located on state Highway 170 next to the Red Cedar River and just east of Tom Prince Memorial Park.
During the summer, campers and tents can occasionally be seen in Stuart Park.
The park is filled with campers for the annual Colfax Softball Association’s tournament at the end of August.
The Village of Colfax charges a nominal fee of $5 per night for camping, and a permit must be acquired at the village hall, or from a police officer when the village hall is not open.
Prince said he planned to go out to the park soon with Rand Bates, director of public works, to measure the park and map out the potential campsites.
Prince also said he is working on gathering information from other campgrounds about rates for weekday and weekend camping.
A campground would benefit the village and businesses in the village, he said.
Campers would buy gasoline and groceries in Colfax and would patronize other businesses, such as A Little Slice of Italy, Prince said.
Colfax now has more attractions available with the Red Cedar Preserve and Recreation Area and the All Terrain Vehicle routes, he said.
There will be an initial cost for developing the campground, but the campground will then be there to generate revenue for the village, Prince said.
The berm and the boat landing would have to be reinforced, and electrical service and water would have to be brought into the campground, he said, noting that the water service for the park would come from the concession stand in Tom Prince Memorial Park.
A total of 20 campsites, rented out on weekends for five months, would generate $43,000 in revenue, Prince said, which would not include any weekday rentals.
Although Prince did not talk about rental rates, a quick calculation for 20 campsites, two nights per weekend, for five months, generating $43,000, would work out to be about $50 per night on the weekends per campsite.
Visitor’s Center
Some grants that are available for developing campgrounds require a visitor’s center, said Anne Jenson, village trustee and a member of the parks committee.
The visitor’s center would have brochures available about attractions in Colfax and Dunn County as well as attractions available in neighboring counties, she said.
Many campgrounds are renting out permanent campsites for the season with a few other open campsites, Prince said.
If the campsites are permanent sites, sewer and water would have to be available, he said.
Jody Albricht, village president, asked about a timeline for the campground.
The campground would not be developed this year, and “we should take our time,” Prince said.
Trees
The first step would be to remove the trees between Tom Prince Memorial Park and Stuart Park to improve the driveway into Stuart Park, said Margaret Burcham, village trustee and a member of the parks committee.
Between 15 and 20 pine trees are located on the line between the two parks, and removing them would open up space for improving the driveway, Prince said.
Another tree in the park that is leaning should also be removed, according to the parks committee members.
Bates said he would obtain estimates for crushed rock to improve the road going into Stuart Park and also for trenching to run the water line from the concession stand.
The first step is to improve the driveway, he said.
Prince said he had talked to a contractor who would be willing to take the trees out now and who would remove the trees with the understanding that he could keep the lumber.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved removing the trees between Tom Prince Memorial Park and Stuart Park as well as the tree that is leaning.
The project to stabilize the Red Cedar River Bank to protect the wastewater treatment lagoons has started.
The contractor has completed the soil borings for soil sampling and has started stripping the access road as of the day of the village board meeting, Bates said.
Equipment has been hauled into the site, and as soon as the road bans are off, base course will be hauled in for the road, he said.
The contractor has been working hard to make sure the project is started in time for the Community Development Block Grant requirements, Niggemann said.
The grant requirement is that the project must have been started by April 30.