Thanks to Blue Sky Bookkeeping and FoodSmith for their support.
With $2 million in state money, Dakota County is planning the future of Thompson Park. Multiple features are moving into the planning stages and the county is asking for more money and public input.
- Planned upgrades: Expansion of Thompson Park Center, pollinator promenade, sensory gardens, daylighted stream, inclusive nature play area, paddling/kayak rental, ravine overlook, picnic area, interpretation and wayfinding, and accessible trail upgrades.
- Not included: A proposed observation tower, sledding hill, and community gardens were cut from the proposal.
- Hoping for federal help: A land bridge across Highway 52 and sound barriers were included as good candidates for federal funding, and will move forward to design in order to increase the chances of securing federal funding.
- Timeline: All of these plans are dependent on approval and funding, so there’s no official timeline yet. Assuming money and approvals come through, the absolute earliest any work could start would be 2025.
- Recent work: This comes on the heels of multiple recent improvements at Thompson Park, including the major improvements in 2021, wetlands restoration in 2019, and smaller projects in 2023 to add a fence to the playground and paving an existing trail. Much of this work stems from the 2020 master plan.
More Money
Current money and approvals only cover the planning, so Dakota County is asking the state for $10 million in bonding to be matched by $10 million from the county to pay for construction.
Why: A big part of the additional money will go to the renovation of Thompson Park Center with the hope of expanding to include a visitor center and equipment rental in addition to the rental and programming space.
“$20 million of investment at Thompson County Park is significant!” said Parks Director Niki Geisler. “It’s exciting to think about the potential of bringing more of the long range plan improvements into reality with possible state dollars to match the county investment.”
Public Input
Open house: Dakota County is planning an open house for April 17 from 5-7 p.m. at the Dakota Lodge in Thompson Park. Spanish-speaking staff will be available at the event.
Survey: In addition, the county is partnering with a class at Macalester College to do in-person and online surveys about growing food in parks. However, community gardens are not part of the planning approved by the county commissioners.
- “We have seen such success and positive results from gardens and growing food in community at other park locations,” said Geisler. “If there is strong public interest, it is certainly something that we could then discuss with our board and assess the feasibility of various options.”
April 17, 2024 Update: See Plans & Give Input
See the phase two plans shared at the April 17 open house and give input.
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