BAXTER - Plans for Whipple Beach may include a concrete patio and a 12-foot paved trail cutting through the woods, but council members remain divided about the future of disc golf there.
Proposed expenditures for the city's parks were outlined during recent budget discussions.
At Whipple Beach, recommendations were to add a concrete patio where the beach meets the grass. Wind-whipped sand is a weekly maintenance issue as staff members rake it back off the grass and the patio. The patio, which would be set up to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), could help with the sand encroachment issue. The budget listed a $50,000 item for the ADA concrete patio.
The council also heard breaks in the sand for vegetation islands could also prevent beach erosion.
A 12-foot wide paved trail from the parking lot cutting through the woods toward the lake was considered. Mayor Darrel Olson asked if the trail was necessary. Should a proposed playground for children with disabilities be built in the wooded area next to the beach, Trevor Walter, public works director, said the trail would be wide enough to allow an emergency vehicle to reach the playground.
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After the council heard a list of projects and price tags, Council member Jim Klein said the city spends a lot of money on other things, noting the patio and $55,000 for trails at two parks and he wondered if disc golf at Whipple Beach was going to happen.
Klein is in favor of including disc golf. Estimates are for a cost of $25,000 plus expenses for upkeep.
"Are we going to do it or aren't we going to do it?" Klein said. "We have to give the kids something to do."
The room was quiet after his suggestion.
Mayor Darrel Olson said a recent trip to Whipple Beach brought comments from residents on the attributes of the park, including the big pine trees, comparing the view to Itasca State Park.
"I think it needs to be left alone," Olson said of Whipple Beach. "I think there are other places it can go."
Olson said he wasn't against disc golf but thought another spot would be better. He suggested Riverview Park but Klein and Council member Mark Cross didn't think it had enough room. Klein thought the disc golf needed 2 acres to cut trails through.
Klein and Olson have expressed the same views in previous meetings.
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"We're a couple of 45s," Olson said, referencing broken records.
"It needs to go somewhere," Cross said.
There is a disc golf course in Brainerd and one at Central Lakes College. Cross said it would be better if the disc golf course wasn't set off by itself but was with other amenities.
Klein said the early proponents of disc golf, who were first going to build it on their own before changing that plan and leaving it to the city, thought Whipple Beach was the best place for it.
Olson said there is a nucleus of people who think that but he questioned if a wide vote of residents shares that viewpoint.
Klein said if it doesn't happen at Whipple Beach, he doesn't think it will go anywhere. He asked the council to do a little soul-searching as there was a lot of interest in disc golf.
The $25,000 expenditure was not part of the proposed budget for 2015.
The proposed 2015 capital parks fund budget includes $84,900 in revenues with $79,000 estimated from park dedication fees and $3,900 from the city's general fund.
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Expenditures, from recommended projects, add up to $140,700. Costs from staff recommended items are being reviewed by the city's parks commission. On the recommended list are $11,700 for items such as charcoal receptacles, picnic tables and garbage cans. Other items include $24,000 for bleacher covers (to protect fans from stray baseballs) and $55,000 for Loren Thompson and Whipple Beach trails.
The Loren Thompson trail plans include a lighted ice skating trail that winds in a loop from the skating rink. A perimeter walking trail to finish a loop is also among unfinished pieces to the Loren Thompson Park.
