After the opening of the disc golf course at Courthouse park outside of Waseca, Waseca County is planning to add another amenity along with other renovations to the park.
The Waseca County Facilities department is applying for an outdoor recreation grant through the Minnesota DNR to improve Courthouse Park. The improvements include a new pavilion, a pickleball court, and new playground mulch.
Facilities Management Director Brian Tomford presented the work that will be done to Courthouse Park to the Waseca County Board of Commissioners at their March 5 meeting. He also talked about it at the March 19 meeting before the board voted to sign the outdoor recreation grant program.
Tomford wrote the grant request with the help from Tina Wilson, who is the Economic Development Manager for the City of Waseca. The county and the city agreed to a joint powers agreement and this allowed for Wilson to work with the county on certain projects, the grant request for Courthouse park being one of them.
The improvements of the park will be constructed in the 2025 and 2026 construction seasons, but the improvements could all be done by the end of 2025.
“I don’t plan on this going into the 2026 season, but we’re able to let it go that far if need be,” Tomford said.
The project is estimated to cost $216,850, with the county requesting a 50/50 match from the state, with the state and the county each paying $108,425.
The scope of work included with the grant program request is a new pavilion, a new pickle ball court, new playground mulch, and a retained wall to help with erosion. The project will start the first week of June in 2025 weather permitting.
The construction of the new pavilion will take 30 days and will take place before the construction of the new pickle ball court. The old pavilion will be torn down after the construction of the new one and the pickle ball court will be where the old pavilion was.
“I don’t want to tear down the old pavilion until the new one is fixed, in case we get some rentals in there and people want to reserve the pavilion,” Tomford said.
The prep and concrete work for the pickle ball court will take place in August. The completion of projects will be in September or October.
The board agreed unanimously to sign the resolution for the outdoor recreation grant program for Courthouse Park.
“I think it’s a great idea, especially when we have disc golf,” commissioner chair Brian Harguth said. “It’s really been busy out there.”
Commissioner De Malterer agreed and appreciated the county staff’s work at looking into the proposal.
“As a board, we made the decision to invest in Courthouse park, that we were going to make it a gem here in the county,” said Malterer.
Malterer wanted to make Courthouse Park a place where people from all over could come to, not just people in the county. The grant program, if awarded, will be a great way to attract people to the park.
The earliest the county will hear back from the state regarding the grant request is in June.
Other action
The board of commissioners also voted to add two parks in Waseca County to the parks ordinance #77.
The ordinance, which was created in 2002, made it so no person could hunt in parks that have no hunting signs posted. County staff requested that two county parks, Blowers and Eustice, be added to the ordinance.
This is due to the parks being used heavily for walking, running, and recreation. The county wants the public to feel safe when enjoying the outdoor areas.
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