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The Chisago County Park Board heard from Lakes Area Recreation Association spokesperson Wade Clarin last week. The Board needed details on a plan for LARA to expand parking at a county park south of Lindstrom. LARA has a contract with the county to improve parking, as part of an agreement allowing the recent construction of a ballfield at Ki-Chi-Saga Park.

Clarin got the okay to move forward with adding 40 or so parking slots at the park. He added that the contract calls for completion of parking improvements by August 31. The estimated cost is $7,000.

The agreement clearing the way for LARA to do projects in the county park was drafted when LARA had an offer from Peterson Companies seeking to dispose of excess soils from the track and field construction project at Chisago Lakes High School. The soils would be hauled to the nearby park to level off and prep a field area.

LARA, a non-profit youth sports organization, worked with the county and Peterson Co. to develop a ballfield which Clarin told the park board members is "90 percent completed." Now, LARA wants to build another field, which triggers revisiting the Comprehensive Park Plan (maximum of four fields in plan.)

The County Park Board voted unanimously to recommend the County Board hold the public hearing to consider increasing the number of fields. The County Board will schedule a hearing date.

Clarin said LARA wouldn't construct the latest requested field in time for this playing season anyway.

Ki-Chi-Saga Park use won't be the only park discussed at the public hearing.

Frandsen Park review

The Park Board also voted to seek to revise the Comp Plan for Dennis Frandsen County Park on Rush Lake.

The plan should reflect the intention to install a disc golf course on-site, which county park board members support. At a previous park board meeting members voted to approve allocating $1,500 for the upright baskets that are used to play disc golf.

Frandsen Park has an expansive meadow-like area that park board members feel lends itself to disc golf, played using plastic discs tossed distances into elevated baskets to score points.

Bob Fisk brought the disc golf course concept to the Park Board and said he'd organize installation of the equipment. Fisk said the nearest disc golf course is probably located in East Bethel.

Fisk, who lives near Frandsen Park said he was "hanging out" at the park one day and it struck him that it's a perfect location for this sport. Fisk also asked for Park Board approval to hold a disc golf tournament at Dennis Frandsen County Park in August.

Park Board members advised Fisk to work with County Parks Director Laird Mork on fine-tuning the idea. The disc golf course plan and tournament details will come back to the Park Board for action at its June meeting.

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