Some city park activities will cost slightly more next year. Find out why.

Some park-related activities in Aberdeen will likely cost a bit more next year.

The extra money will be used to help offset increasing salary costs, Mark Hoven, the city's parks, recreation and forestry director, told the Aberdeen Park and Recreation Board at Wednesday's meeting.

For example, he said, individual rides at Wylie Park will go up from $2.25 to $3, while the cost of a punch card for10 rides, will go from $17.25 to $20. Admission to the aquatic center will also go up slightly, he said, but camping rates at city parks will remain the same.

All cost increases will go into effect on Jan. 1.

Haunted Forest attendance up

Gene Morsching, recreation superintendent for the park department, said attendance for the Haunted Forest was up this year. The total attendance on Friday and Saturday was 4,816, compared to 3,900 in 2019. The Haunted Forest was canceled last year because of COVID-19.

Attendance for the Saturday afternoon matinee was approximately 1,200, which Morsching said is likely the highest the event has ever seen. That Saturday night, attendance was 1,990.

"I guess people were anxious for Haunted Forest to come back," said Morsching.

Dakota Open numbers down because of rain

Jon Murdy, head golf pro at Lee Park, said the course saw a good golf season, but added there was sharp decrease in the number of people in Dakota Open golf tournament, which is typically a big event. That's because one day of the event had to be canceled because of rain. The number of participants dropped form 260 in 2019 to about 50 this year, he said.

Murdy said Lee Park has added GPS in the past year, which helps keep golf carts off areas they shouldn't be on.

Charles Kornmann, golf superintendent, said holes 13 and 14 fully opened about two weeks ago after they were renovated to fix drainage issues. That project cost about $270,000. Kornmann said there's talk of adding a tee box to them in spring, although a timeframe has not been set.

The next phase of renovation at Lee Park will likely begin next fall, said Kornmann, and will focus on getting water moving on certain areas of the course to eliminate rain days.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: park board haunted forest report