by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Lake Francis (actually a big 12-acre pond) will become a recreational area and picnic spot if a partnership among the city and private developers goes as planned.
At its last meeting, the Sartell City Council voted 4-1 to dedicate $165,000 in park funds to a Phase I Lake Francis trail and related amenities, contingent upon other members of the partnership following through with their intentions.
Council member Amy Braig-Lindstrom voted against the proposal because she said there is not enough city staff for yet more maintenance of roads, trails and “acres and acres of parkland.”
Plans are to put a trail around the pond, create a Memorial Park there next to Chateau Waters and in future perhaps an amphitheater, an ice-skating rink, warming house and fishing facilities. There will also be lights and fountains added, according to current conceptual plans.
Other partners in the project are Four Points Development and CentraCare Health, which is building Chateau Waters, a senior-living complex next to Lake Francis.
That entire area, which is supposed to become a “downtown Sartell” site, includes Pine Cone Marketplace to the north, the Chateau Waters complex now under construction, the lake-pond and within two years or so a Sartell Community Center. It’s the site the council recently chose on which to build the long-awaited center.
Sartell City Administrator Mary Degiovanni said maintenance for the Phase I project (the trail and Memorial Park) would be fairly minimal, with mowing required on each side of the trail and discretionary plowing in the winter months. She also noted there has been an extra seasonal maintenance worker position added for next summer.
Council member David Peterson said he’s concerned about intrusive vegetation disrupting the trail, especially a stubborn willow that can shoot right up through bituminous hiking-biking trails. Sartell City Engineer Mike Nielson said he and his staff are very aware of such a contingency and are working on a plan to prevent it, including the potential use of a poison that kills such willows.
Degiovanni noted there are two other parks near that area: Sauk River Regional Park and Huntington Park.
In its motion to approve Phase I, the council also agreed to defer tax assessments of property there to the tune of close to $150,000. If the partnership succeeds in doing all hoped-for developments, the total cost could be about $700,000.
