By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — What to do?
Members of the Dunn County Facilities Committee have asked the county’s corporation counsel to write an ordinance pertaining to camping in county parks so committee members can decide if they want an ordinance — or if they want to do nothing and leave “as is.”
Nick Lange, Dunn County corporation counsel, told the facilities committee at the March 23 meeting that he had researched the county’s ordinances and resolutions and could not find anything that had been passed by the Dunn County Board to regulate camping in county parks.
There are many ordinances and resolutions that the county board has passed over the years pertaining to county parks, but none of them are codified, he said.
Lange said he is working on collecting those ordinances so they can be put into a parks and facilities chapter of the county ordinances, and he could write an ordinance about camping in county parks that could be considered by the county board now and included in the chapter later.
One facilities committee member wondered if allowing camping in county parks would create legal issues with providing fire pits, picnic tables and restroom facilities.
The facilities committee talked last month about putting up signs that say “no camping allowed in county parks,” the committee member said, noting that the Boy Scouts camp in the Dunn County Rec Park with permission.
The ordinance could address youth organizations and establish that they need a permit to camp, Lange said.
A sign would work about 90 percent of the time, but there will be some people who would camp anyway, he said.
The ordinance could be set up so that the facilities director or a Dunn County deputy could issue a citation for camping that violates county ordinance, Lange said.
Campsites
Many of the county parks are quite small, said Don Kuether, county board supervisor from Menomonie and a member of the facilities committee.
The county would have to establish campsites to control how many people camp at one time, and that would be complicated to regulate, he said.
Camping in county parks would not be viable, except for some organizations, like the Boy Scouts, that could get a permit for camping, Kuether said.
“Other than that, I think we’d be opening a can of worms,” he said.
If the county allowed primitive camping, that would eliminate the sanitation issues, Lange said.
Myron Park in Sand Creek allows camping, but the park is leased to the town, he said.
Camping does occur at the Dunn County Rec Park, but it is associated with events, such as racing at the Red Cedar Speedway, Lange said.
There are two days of racing, and people pull in with an RV and a trailer, but that is not really a campground, it is people staying overnight in conjunction with an event, he said.
Problems?
One facilities committee member asked if there was currently a problem with camping in county parks or would the county be trying to solve a problem that is not a problem?
There was a problem with a camper at 22 Mile Ford Park, said Charles Maves, county board supervisor from Boyceville and chair of the facilities committee.
If you have a sign that says “no camping without permission” then someone would have to follow up when people are camping, and then there is the legal aspect of why someone can or cannot camp, Maves said.
Signs could be put up, “but it really doesn’t have teeth,” Lange said.
Committee members asked Scott Nabbefeld, director of the Dunn County facilities department, if he had noticed a problem with camping in county parks.
There have been campers over the years at 22 Mile Ford Park, Nabbefeld said.
Last year, there was a camper at 22 Mile Ford for quite some time. It turned out that the people were homeless, he said.
Nabbefeld said he had contacted the sheriff’s department about the camper and was told that deputies had already had contact with the campers and had given them a deadline to get out of the park.
“I got phone calls,” Nabbefeld said, adding that county residents said they were afraid to use 22 Mile Ford Park because of the dilapidated camper full of junk with cars parked around it.
Nabbefeld said his reason for bringing up the issue of camping in county parks is that if there is an ordinance stating no camping in county parks, then the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department has an ordinance to work with.
Without an ordinance, people will say they have camped there for years and have not been told they could not camp, Nabbefeld said.
Other people who have camped at 22 Mile Ford have not been a problem and have not caused any damage, he said.
One camper comes on weekends and parks at the back of 22 Mile Ford Park along the river, Nabbefeld said.
The other parks have posts along the pavement so a camper cannot be driven into the park, he noted, adding, “I don’t know if it’s a real problem.”
Facilities committee members directed Lange to write an ordinance for them consider.
The proposed ordinance is expected to be on the facilities committee agenda for the next meeting on April 27.
Red Cedar Speedway
Representatives for the Red Cedar Speedway also attended the March 23 facilities committee meeting.
All of the restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic have expired, so there would be no restrictions on racing this summer, Lange said.
The only aspect of racing that the facilities committee should approve would be extra races that are not part of the Red Cedar Speedway’s regular schedule, he said.
Maves said he appreciated the last two years and the effort of the Red Cedar Racing Association to work with the county to “make the best of a bad situation.”
The Dunn County Facilities Committee approved a motion to add the World of Outlaws race July 17 to the Red Cedar Speedway schedule this summer.
