Give input on Keewaydin park plan March 6

Parks department working to relocate pool and playground

by Tesha M. Christensen

Check out the new design for the Keewaydin Park on Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Keewaydin Park Recreation Center, 3030 E. 53rd St.

Since gathering input from community residents during a meeting Jan. 21, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation staff has been working on a new master plan for the park. The expansion of Lake Nokomis Community School’s Keewaydin  Campus has prompted this redesign, as the existing playground and wading pool are on school-owned land and will need to be relocated. The park board supported building to the south in order to preserve the athletic fields on the east.

“I greatly appreciate that over 35 members of the Keewaydin community came out for the Keewaydin Park workshop,” said Fifth District Commissioner Carol Kummer. “This level of participation shows how much people care about this park.”

WHAT DO COMMUNITY RESIDENTS WANT?

Some common themes expressed during the Jan. 21 meeting were replacing the play equipment and water features; aligning the fields to better serve youth softball, baseball and soccer; and saving the trees and as much green space as possible, stated Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board Manager of Public Engagement and Citywide Planning Jennifer Ringold.

“We were impressed with the level of similarity in the features desired by the participants,” stated Ringold.

Some wanted a new tennis court. The former ones were removed in 2007 because they were in poor condition, not because they weren’t getting used. It will cost between $50,000 - $75,000 to install a single tennis court.

While some of the existing items can be moved to another spot at the park, others, such as the main play structure, much of the equipment in the Pre-K container, the seesaw, and the spring animals can’t. They are nearing the end of their life expectancy, explained Ringold. A playground generally lasts about 20 years. “The larger play structure, although faded, and Galaxy Spica spinners for the older children are in good condition and can be moved. It is probably more economical to replace the swings.  However, the safety zone for swings are big consumers of space; we might not have room to replace these,” she added.

Additionally, the park board won’t reuse any equipment that doesn’t meet existing safety and handicap-accessible standards.

The estimated cost for a new wading pool/splash pad is $500,000, and a new playground will cost about $300,000.

The athletic fields have drainage issues and could also use renovation, which would cost about $200,000, according to Ringold.

The fields are used most heavily for soccer; last year there were eight teams with 91 participants. They are also used for baseball and softball. Over the last three years, soccer and baseball enrollment has stayed steady. The number of softball teams dropped from four teams to two teams in 2011. However, all four existing field are in poor condition, damaged by heavy use and ice sheets. They are no longer flooded for ice skating in the winter.

Jay Larson, a member of the school steering committee, attended the park meeting in January. He said it was reassuring for him to hear that the pool would likely have been replaced by the park board within the next few years, and that the playground equipment was nearing the end of its life expectancy.

“After this meeting, and as a Keewaydin resident who lives only a couple of blocks from the park, I feel much better about the school and park’s decision to partner and move forward with the demolition and rebuild of Keewaydin’s playground and pool,” Larson stated.

“I will admit, being a parent of three young children who use Keewaydin park almost daily during the warmer months and having to possibly live without a park for a summer or two will be rough.  However, we will simply walk a few more blocks away and be able to utilize other nearby parks with playground equipment and wading pool (such as Hiawatha or Nokomis).”

WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM?

The parks department has not yet identified where the money to move and/or purchase new playground equipment and a pool will come from. According to Ringold, the parks department has budgeted $500,000 total to split between the service area of Morris, McRea, and Pearl in 2013. “We expect some of this funding will help with improvements for Keewaydin,” Ringold stated. “We will also be working with other possible funders and looking for grants after the master planning is complete.”

Will Keewaydin School allocate some of its $16 million construction budget for the playground? Until the steering committee finalizes the design and receives estimates, the school doesn’t know what its budget will cover, according to Larson. “The current playground and pool just south of the school is a priority for the committee and much discussion is happening in/around what to do,” he remarked.

Keewaydin School has not yet identified when the playground will be removed to accommodate the construction project. Construction is slated to begin as soon as classes let out in June.

Larson observed that at this time, “We do not know how the construction timeline will lay out and how this will effect recess time for the students at Keewaydin.  However, it is most likely that students will be re-directed to another location for recess during construction.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

At the March 6 meeting, attendees will review the concepts developed based on the Jan. 21 meeting and identify the community’s preferred plan. This preferred plan will become the master plan that is presented to the Board of Commissioners for approval. Park staff anticipate bringing the master plan to the Board of Commissioners in April.

For further information, visit the park project page on the MPRB website: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1320.

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SIDEBARS

COMMENTS FROM RESIDENTS

Thirty-five residents attended a planning session about the park on Jan. 21. Here are some of their comments:

• This is a young child playground.

• Basketball is available at the great new school. Place court on school property.

• Keep the rec center separate from the school; it is in good condition and serves its purpose well. The space is adequate for young kids.

• Preserve the sledding hills on the east side: they are used a ton and they are the only sledding hills near this neighborhood.

• Preserve the green space. Keep as many trees as possible.

• Maintain the diversity of activities in the park for children from Pre-K to grades K-8.

• Keep all play areas close together and seating/picnic areas close to the play structures.

• Create parking sufficient for evening activities. Consider street parking impact on neighborhood).

HISTORY OF KEEWAYDIN PARK

1927 - City and school district agree to cooperate on the purchase and use of a new school and playground, which would generate a “substantial saving” to the city.

1929 - Playing fields, skating and hockey rinks in use.

1932 - Four tennis courts and concrete wading pool finished. The playground was located where it currently is, while the pool was where the Rec Center is today. There were four tennis courts in the southeast corner.

1972 - Recreation center opened. Four tennis courts reduced to two. Parking lot, playgrounds, hard surface court, and wading pool are in current locations.

2000 - The school board contributed

$30,000, the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association contributed $70,000 and the MPRB contributed $200,000 to replace the playground, improve the wading pool and resurface the basketball area.

2007 - Tennis courts removed due to poor condition. The use of the athletic fields for skating has been discontinued.

Information courtesy of Deborah Bartels of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.


This story was printed in the March 2012 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.