Sturgis residents get first look at Sturgis Adventure Park designs
Three conceptual renderings for the Sturgis Adventure Park were presented to Sturgis residents at the town's City Council meeting Monday. The presentation was done by project managers from Vanocker Development, President Kyle Treloar and Partner Megan Kingsbury, Ron Romens with Commercial Recreation Specialties, and Matt Fridell from Tallgrass Landscape Architecture.
The Adventure Park would encompass 12 acres of the 77-acre parcel just southeast of city limits which the city purchased in March of last year for $1.4 million. The project is planned to have a man-made lake spanning multiple acres, commercial and retail space, splash pad playground, picnic area, concession stand, restrooms, miniature golf, open space for future growth, walking/biking path around the perimeter of the park, water park structures, zero-entry swim beach, amphitheater and open water for kayaks and stand up paddleboards. The budget for the facility is $5.9 million, according to a statement from the City of Sturgis.
The presentation during Monday's meeting was a precursor to a public comment portion of the development process. After viewing the three conceptual renderings of each layout plan, residents may choose which one they like best and offer other criticisms. According to Fridell, each plan costs about the same to construct and manage and offer the same amenities. The most notable difference is the placement and size of the body of water which is the essential characteristic of the project. The lake would include a beach, an inflatable adventure course for children, fish and plants to keep the water clean and will span between 2.2 and 2.95 acres according to Fridell.
The project will offer some free access amenities such as the splash pad playground, shelters, walking trails and amphitheater as well as paid access amenities such as beach access, some swimming zones, pedal boats, stand up paddleboards, miniature golf and umbrella chairs. The revenue earned from the paid access amenities will help pay for the construction costs and maintenance of the project along with $200,000 from the city's Capital Improvement Fund and $400,000 in donations and grants raised by the Sturgis Aquatics Committee. Additional funding would come from a tax increment financing (TIF) district on the rest of the parcel that will include high- and low-income homes and commercial areas.
Fridell said the project can improve the lives of Sturgis residents by offering safe and affordable opportunities for all ages. Importantly, the park can make Sturgis a destination all year long — not just during the Rally.
"Commercial and play will have a great relationship where the activities in the park will drive traffic to its commercial spaces and keep people coming to the park all year long," Fridell said.
Bonni Alberts, a Sturgis resident for over 60 years, has followed city council meetings closely for decades including the yearslong Adventure Park process. She is excited about the diversity of amenities the project will offer and the draw it might have to tourists.
"I support what we're doing because if we want a younger community, we are going to have to provide activities and facilities for kids right now," Alberts said. "But I'm not going to go splashing in the lake, so I'm really interested in the preservation of the naturalness and that we maintain our walking and hiking trails."
After the meeting concluded, a handful of Sturgis residents spoke with Fridell, Kingsbury and Treloar including fourth-generation resident Allison Creed-Carter who is the chairwoman of the Sturgis Aquatics Committee. She believes the nearly three-acre lake is not big enough and if Sturgis truly wanted to make the Adventure Park a destination, the parcel on which it sits needs to be larger than 12 acres. She proposed that construction of the project be postponed so her committee can raise more money. The additional money raised by the committee would account for the revenue that would have been generated from the TIF of the homes built on the property. Creed-Carter's plan would eliminate some of the homes from the design. The row of homes are adjacent to the project and can be consolidated into the parcel dedicated to the park to allow for a bigger lake, according to Creed-Carter.
"The big push is more park and less housing. We could offer jet skiing, wakeboarding or have a zipline over the lake — there's a ton of options if we had a bigger lake," Creed-Carter said. She proposed the project be completed in phases so each year a new component be added while the existing infrastructure generates revenue for the next. This financing strategy would make possible a bigger park that offers more amenities to make it a major recreational destination of the region. "We want to change the culture of Sturgis and show that you can bring your family here, that we have a lot more to offer than the Rally. And if you're a tourist, you don't have to go to Rapid or Spearfish to have fun."
Project managers will receive public comment until early June. After comments end they will design a final concept that will need to be presented to and approved by the Sturgis City Council. Since a portion of the 12-acre parcel is designated a flood plain, they will then submit a Letter of Map Revision to FEMA. As the managers work with FEMA, they will move forward with construction documents and bidding throughout the summer. Construction is optimistically forecasted to complete in January of next year, according to Fridell.
Those wishing to submit public comment or view the presentation slides can do so on the City of Sturgis website.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Sturgis residents get first look at Sturgis Adventure Park designs
