Playground equipment to be added to Kuhnert Arboretum, hopefully yet this autumn

Enhancements have been made at  Kuhnert Arboretum in recent years and there are more to come, including a new playground set this fall, provided it arrives.

City Forester Aaron Kiesz presented an overview of the development of the arboretum to the Aberdeen Parks Board on Wednesday.

The arboretum was stablished in 1974 and named after then-Park Superintendent Erv Kuhnert.

Kiesz said the development of the area south of Melgaard Park really started in 2010 with the addition of walking trails, a paved parking lot, trees and a children's area. Much of the work today follows an updated master plan developed in 2015, he said, and many of the improvements have been made through donations and grants, including from the 3M Foundation.

The gazebo has been a popular spot for weddings at the arboretum, he said. It is the product of an anonymous donation from a man in Mellette who built the forms and poured the concrete pieces for the gazebo that was later assembled in Aberdeen, Kiesz said.

The Hardy Rosarians established the rose beds in 2009. Trail development started in 2015, and the parking lot was added in 2017. A new stage followed in 2021.

Playground equipment will be added to the children's area, which already has a five-piece outdoor music instrument area and a pollinator garden.

Kiesz said the playground set is on order and delivery is expected yet this fall. It cost $150,000, with $68,000 covered by a grant.

"It's really grown over the last 10, 15 years," he said, noting that the arboretum is gaining more attention from the public.

Kiesz said staffers continue to add and expand signs at the arboretum, which are a key educational component.

Next summer, he said, the hope is to add a plaza area that will acknowledge supporters of the arboretum.

Fall drainage work planned at Lee Park

Phase two of drainage improvements at Lee Park Golf Course begin this fall.

Golf Superintendent Charles R. Kornmann said work will include catch basins with drainage behind the green for the eighth hole and along the fairway on the third hole.

"These are the two main spots where we can't get carts through if we have a 2-inch rain," he said.

That water will be drained to the pump house and fed into a new pond that will be created in that area. Then, the materials from the excavated pond site will be used to build up the fairway on the third hole.

More work is planned in a third phase, Kornmann said. It includes taking the soil removed from the pond near hole 13, removing the bridge near the ninth hole and raising the area for a new tee box on the ninth.

"Then the whole area will have catch basins between four and nine," Kornmann said. "That should really eliminate most of the flooding spots, especially on the front nine."

Agreement approved for cabin construction by Central students

In other action, the parks board approved a memorandum of understanding with Aberdeen Public School District to construct three cabins that will replace some of the oldest cabins at the Wylie Park campground.

Parks, Recreation and Forestry Director Mark Hoven said there are seven cabins on the north side of the campground that are the oldest. They are log cabin-style structures.

The cabins that will be built by Central High School students will be the same size as the existing cabins. Through the agreement, the city covers the material costs for the cabins.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Arboretum playground set should arrive this fall