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Plans Unveiled For New Park In Okoboji

July 13, 2022 Steve Schwaller

(Okoboji)– An unveiling of plans for a new park being proposed in the area of the former Inn golf course drew a standing room only crowd to Tuesday evening’s Okoboji City Council meeting. An anonymous group purchased the land and donated it to the Dickinson County Conservation Board, which will oversee and maintain the area, known as “Sherwood Forest”. A landscape architect outlined the plans, which include walking and biking trails, parking areas, children play areas, and other amenities. The plans include two entrances to the park: one off of Lakeshore Drive and another that would involve the extension of a street on the north side of the park.

Neighbors expressed a number of concerns, primarily dealing with traffic and parking…

“We already on Park View and Nichols have a lot of traffic and there’s children that play, ride bikes. You know, granted this may get them off of the road, but it’s a peaceful area back there. It’s not on Lakeshore Drive, it’s very peaceful, it’s very communitive and I’m just afraid it’s just going to be overrun.”

Another resident urged city officials to stay closely involved in the project and remain cognizant of the concerns…

“As you lay the groundwork for Okoboji and it’s continued legacy that will be passed on for generations, may you never forget how necessary it is to balance the future with the past. May we never sacrifice the heritage and culture of our ancestors on the altar of unending expansion that will leave our extraordinary town unrecognizable to the next generation.”

City Administrator Michael Meyers vowed the city will do what it can to work with the County Conservation Board to make sure the concerns are addressed…

“Yeah, and I certainly think that tonight we also saw that there was support for this park. I think as described it’s kind of a passive use of the land, but I certainly think there’s some things that can get ironed out whether it be through the Dickinson County Conservation Board or Olson Associates working on the design. Obviously we’re happy to help them and work with them and do whatever we can to get this to the finish line.”

Austin Vachal, who’s designing the project, indicated they would take the input into consideration in putting together some revised plans in an effort to address the concerns before coming back with something more final.