Arnolds Park Showcases New City Park

(Arnolds Park)—Officials expect a new city park that’s been developed near the Abbie Gardner Sharpe cabin in Arnolds Park will get a lot of use over the upcoming summer. Arnolds Park City Administrator Ron Walker tells KUOO’s John Adams Sr. the project got its start several years ago when the city bought out a couple of cabins on the site…(click here for comment.)


“We got the property purchased and removed the buildings and actually started planning in 2010. In 2011 bids were let for a new shelter house. It was opened and had an open house in September, 2012. So the whole project was over a two to three year span. The cost of the project total was about $365,000. That includes the purchase of the property, construction of the shelter house, parking area, trail addition, rain gardens, LID portions of the project. Of that $365,000 $150,000 came from REAP grants the city was able to get from the DNR. The remainder of about $215,000 came from city construction funds that we had on hand.” The use of the park, how to you anticipate it will be used? “It was used last year by families for reunions, for picnics, that kind of thing. We anticipate that it will be used for some school groups that come in to tour the Abbie Gardner Sharp cabin, which is a state historic site, and we feel as well as that for small families, family reunions, things like that will make up most of the use.”