×

Friends of Ft. Ridgely host rally

If you go:

Who: Public

What: Rally to support state legislative bill allowing the City of Fairfax to lease and operate the Fort Ridgely State Park golf course. District 17A Rep. Tim Miller, (R-Prinsburg), will release pending legislation information.

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: Fairfax Community Center, 300 S. Park St., a block south of downtown Fairfax’ west main street.

FAIRFAX — Fort Ridgely State Park golf course supporters will host a public rally at the Fairfax Community Center at 7 p.m. today.

District 17A Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, will release information on a bill that would allow the City of Fairfax to lease and operate the state park golf course. The House Environmental and Natural Resources Committees will likely hold hearings in February.

Golf-course supporters have an opportunity to sign up for a bus trip to attend the hearings and possibly testify at them. There is bi-partisan support for this legislation, according to the Friends of Fort Ridgely.

Golf course supporters will also be able to make pledges to the Friends of Fort Ridgely and City of Fairfax to acquire equipment to operate and manage the golf course and clubhouse.

The legislation is an attempt to give Minnesota citizens a chance to be involved in this impactful issue. With approved legislation, golf course season passes would be sold this spring.

The golf course is among the oldest in southern Minnesota, celebrating it’s 90th year in 2017. The unique nine-hole course winds through Minnesota River Valley ravines and prairies. For generations, the golf course has offered visitors a view of the unique history and nature of the region and boosted state park attendance.

The golf course was renovated in 2006 for $2.1 million. New grass greens were installed and golf course holes were improved in other ways.

An existing public recreational asset, the golf course will be destroyed in favor of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) plans to convert it to prairie grass this year. Such a project would dramatically reduce state park attendance and create a negative economic blow to the City of Fairfax and surrounding communities, according to the Friends of Fort Ridgely.

A number of park users posted comments on the Fort Ridgely State Park Facebook site earlier this year.

“This is a fantastic park with lots to offer,” posted Heidi Tjosaas Pavlovich. “A shame, the DNR does not find it as special as its patrons.”

“Fort Ridgely State Park is my favorite place on earth,” posted Kelly Rae Harvey. “I recommend it for the horse riding trails, the historical site, the chalet, the sledding hill, hiking, camp sites, and golfing for their scenic beauty. My husband and I got married there at the outdoor stone amphitheater, had our hag/stag party at the chalet, and reception at the stone picnic shelter. Our guests camped.”

Harvey posted that five years after the wedding, she keeps hearing that the wedding was “the most fun wedding ever. If you haven’t been to Fort Ridgely, you’re missing out.”

At a DNR overview hearing with the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee Jan. 12, DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr said more than $145 million is needed each year for the next decade to bring DNR capital assets it maintains up to average or better condition.

Landwehr said the DNR faces a $342.2 million deferred maintenance backlog defined as anything built on DNR land with a minimum 20-year lifecycle. He said the agency was in “a very bad place” with the upkeep needed to care for 2,714 buildings, hundreds of bridges and miles of trails it maintains.

Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska) said money for capital asset preservation was included in last year’s bonding bill that was “torpedoed” by the Senate.

Rep. Rick Hansen, (DFL-South St. Paul) suggested General Fund money could “chew away” at the ongoing problem more effectively because, unlike a bonding bill, a “super majority” would not be needed to approve funding.

Landwehr said a golf course at a state park “doesn’t make sense” and he called the Fort Ridgely State Park golf course “extraordinarily inefficient because it used 50 percent of the park’s assets and generated five percent of the revenue.”

Landwehr said the DNR received a proposal to operate the golf course that did not meet conditions the DNR earlier set.

“I would respectfully disagree with that,” said Rep. Clark Johnson, (DFL-N. Mankato). “I’m seeing this from the bottom up from my neighbors in the Upper Minnesota River Valley. It seems to me, everyone recognizes the financial challenges with the golf course. The City of Fairfax and Friends of Fort Ridgely are willing to take that on. I think you have willing partners. The DNR has multiple challenges across the state, but here you have a large group of citizens and a city willing to take this on. There is certainly room for negotiation. At least negotiate with this group of citizens that is pretty broad and wide.”

Johnson said young people presented a strong case for the golf course at a Nicollet County Commissioners meeting.

“There is a strong case for golf course mismanagement or lack of management by the DNR, but we need to move forward, not backward,” Johnson said. “I’m asking you again to go back to the table and negotiate with these groups including the best friends of the park.”

For more rally information, call Fairfax City Administrator Marcia Seibert-Volz at 507-426-7255.

Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper?
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.38/week.

Subscribe Today