By Mollee Francisco 

When Chaska Mayor Gary Van Eyll first caught a glimpse of plans for Veterans Memorial Park, a baseball field seemed like a perfect complement. Not only did it exemplify “America,” but it provided some much-needed active recreation space for the city.

“This is something we’re going to be very proud of,” he said.

So it came as a bit of a shock to him when neighbors adjacent to the proposed park presented to a recent city council meeting to vehemently protest against the ball field. Calling it an “uncharacteristically poor decision” by the city, residents questioned the plans to add a ball field, citing concerns of increased traffic and safety.

But those residents aren’t the only ones that are upset. Plans for two other city parks have also met severe scrutiny this year, sending some ideas back for review and forcing the city to look at its communication practices.

Veterans Park

“This was a surprise to us,” said Roger Aaberg, chair of the city’s Park Board, which regularly reviews and comments on park plans developed by the Parks, Recreation and Arts Department.

Many Points West and Prescott Lane residents said they learned about the ball park “only recently,” although the council approved the master plan for the million-dollar Veterans Park in May.

“It’s been on our agenda several times,” said Aaberg. “There’s been quite a bit of planning on it and I don’t remember any negative feedback there.”

“We’ve discussed it at five or six different meetings,” said Tom Redman, director of Chaska’s Parks, Recreation and Arts department, adding that the city had not previously received any correspondence from the neighborhood or its homeowner’s association.

While neighbors of the future park had few concerns about the veterans memorial portion of the park, they were strongly opposed to having a ball field adjacent to their neighborhood, and asked that the council stop work on the park and revise the plan.

Neighborhood representative Christian Ward called the location of the proposed ball field “both inappropriate and unacceptable” and stated in an e-mail to the council that “until recently, most of us were unaware that the plans included a ‘Adult/Babe Ruth’ baseball/softball diamond.”

City Administrator David Pokorney acknowledged that park plans are generally not something the city sends letters to residents about, though in this case, he reported that the neighborhood was asked for their input on playground equipment in May, shortly after the master plan was approved by the council.

Because the council acknowledged that there appeared to be a lack of communication between the city and the neighborhood, it voted at a Nov. 19 meeting to halt most of the work on the site to send the plans to the Park Board for review.

“We never meant to be detrimental to the neighborhood,” said Van Eyll. “But we’re not giving up. I think everyone can be a winner in this. Maybe we can make it a better park.”

The Park Board will review the park plans at its January meeting, though few are expecting any major changes.

“The memorial needs the ball field to draw people,” said Aaberg.

“I feel very strongly that the park plan is well-designed,” said Redman. “It was always the intent to make it an active recreation park. All of our programs have a shortage of facilities and this was an excellent opportunity.”

“I think the bulk of (the Park Board) felt it was the next exciting project for Chaska,” said Aaberg. “It looks like an asset to the community.”

Lake Bavaria

In March, the City Council voted to give up to three acres of park land to Ridgeview Medical Center for an 8,000 square-foot, eight-bed hospice facility.

The Chevalle development deeded 20 acres on the southwest corner of Lake Bavaria to the city as part of parkland dedication requirements. The city planned to create a passive park on the site. In exchange for the right to build a hospice on park land, Ridgeview was expected to help contribute to a park pavilion.

In November, a handful of residents appeared before Chaska’s Planning Commission to question the city’s decision to give away park land.

Redman called the city’s decision to give land to Ridgeview “premature.”

“It was premature for the city to give away land before the needs are determined,” he said. Though Redman did not say that the future park was an inappropriate site for the hospice, he did have concerns about the process saying, “needs should determine the location of the hospice.”

He also noted that the Park Board, which acts as a sounding board for park development within the city, was not asked to be a part of the decision on the hospice.

Aaberg said that much is true. Unlike many park plans, the city’s Park Board has not had extensive discussion on this particular park. “We’re vaguely aware of it,” he said. “We’ve only see it at one meeting.”

Aaberg said there certainly are opportunities for mixing such facilities with park land, but would like to see things that go “hand in hand.”

“If (the hospice) is done in a park-like building so it works together on the site, well, there’s plenty of property there,” he said.

However, the Park Board will now get its say on the park site. Following the November meeting, the Planning Commission sent the plans for a park at Lake Bavaria to the Park Board for its review.

The issue is slated to be discussed at the board’s meeting on Dec. 10. While the Park Board won’t be able to consider whether or not the hospice belongs on the site, since a purchase agreement was already approved by the council earlier this fall, they can review and comment on the location of the hospice within the park.

Firemen’s Park

Perhaps no park in the city of Chaska has generated as much discussion as Firemen’s Park. Last year, after years of talk about redeveloping the northwest corner of highways 41 and 212, the city initiated eminent domain proceedings on Ohnsorg Truck Body Manufacturing.

Two million dollars later, the city now has control of the properties on the corner and can begin to seriously consider the redevelopment possibilities.

More than a dozen ideas have been considered – a multi-story retail/residential complex at the corner, office buildings along 212, the swimming beach moved to Schimelpfenig Park across the lake, an expanded Firemen’s Park, a restaurant alongside the lake – but changes to the park itself have been resisted by many including residents, the fire department and the historical society.

“This means very much to me,” said Van Eyll, who served on the fire department for 20 years. “I’m not going to vote for something that takes away from Firemen’s Park.”

“It’s an important park as part of Chaska’s history,” said Redman. “We should be sensitive to that.”

“I think Firemen’s Park is unique and needs to be preserved in the best possible way for the city,” said Aaberg. “Would it be great to have all of it be a park? Sure. But is it economically feasible? Well, that’s another story.”

“It’s going to be an interesting discussion,” said Redman, who has been opposed to any changes that would result in less park land. “We need to start by looking at how the park is utilized and how we can enhance those uses, rather than go on an architect’s plan.”

Van Eyll acknowledged that whatever they do, changes to the park are nearly inevitable.

“It’s going to look different,” he said. “But better. We need to look ahead 50 years and ask ourselves ‘Is this what we want Chaska to look like?’”

No plans for redevelopment have been approved by the council as yet, though Pokorney said concepts will be back before the council in the next month.

Encouraging dialogue

Though challenges at Veterans Park, the park at Lake Bavaria and Firemen’s Park all have different circumstances, Van Eyll can see a common link among them.

“It all comes down to communication,” he said. “If we have a vision, we need to communicate that vision directly.”

No one is proposing any major changes to the park planning process, but Van Eyll, Redman and Aaberg all welcome more public input.

“We want as much input as possible,” said Van Eyll.

“It’s really good people are caring about things like Firemen’s Park,” said Redman. “I think it’s fantastic for people to be involved.”

All three are proud of the recreation opportunities afforded to Chaska’s residents.

“That is a truly magnificent part of Chaska,” said Redman. “You can put our parks and trails system up against any parks or trails system in the state.”

Continuing that tradition will be a priority for the city as well as its staff and commissions like the Park Board as they develop and redevelop parks within the city.

“We’re there to help make good decisions for the community,” said Aaberg. “But it’s hard to please everyone.”

 “The public should trust the process,” said Redman.