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Ben West and Gloria West of DuTriRun asked the Chisago City Council Sept. 26 asking the city to reconsider its decision to no longer allow the annual triathlon to use city property, for an event which had become a 17-year community tradition. 

The city decided this July’s triathlon would be the last one held at Paradise Park in Chisago City, citing a negative impact on the park, pressure on others’ use of the park, and traffic congestion during the event. Demand on local volunteers both in the park and along the race routes and minimal benefit to local businesses have also been cited as negatives.

On Sept. 26 the Wests told the council they had been stunned by the city’s decision and had been previously unaware of  problems, saying the issues had never been brought to their attention. 

In a letter to City Administrator John Pechman and Park Director Doris Zacho, Ben West said,  “Please consider this my official request to reconsider the triathlon permit under new conditions. We would not set up in the park until Friday before the (Sunday) race. We will contact all businesses close to the park and offer to post “No Parking” signs for anyone that requests it. I am eager to discuss any other changes that the board would find helpful in continuing the triathlon.”

The Wests told the council they were open to discussing suggestions to resolve any and all issues the city had. Gloria West said they were open to repairing any damage done to the park and donating funds for park improvements. “It’s a beautiful park,” she said. “If some grass needs to be fixed we’d be happy to come back in and fix it. We’d like to ask you to reconsider.”

West offered to help pay city staff if they are required to work extra hours on the weekend of the event, to pay lifeguards and law enforcement officers who are called in to work the event or along the race route.  “We’re more than happy to pay the city staff or anyone that’s on a boat (during the water portion of the event),” Gloria West said.

She also described several options to encourage more benefit to local businesses. Rather than hosting race registration at the Park on the days before the event, she offered to hold registration at a location downtown, bringing registrants into community businesses. She offered to include coupons from local businesses in the race packets or to create a “bingo card” received by each registrant offering a prize if they visited a set number of local businesses.

The Wests provided the council with a 12 page booklet of positive emails and comments from Triathlon participants endorsing the event and expressing their dismay at its cancellation. Many of them praised the enthusiastic community support they experienced along the race route. They said community residents came along the route to cheer them on, provided water for them or put sprinklers out for them to cool off. Others cited the beauty of the lakes and the bike route. 

Two local residents attended the council meeting and asked to address the council. A local woman in the audience said it sounded like there had been a breakdown in communication. “As a local resident, from what I’ve seen and heard, I would like to have this come to the community and resolve the problems and keep the event here. The triathletes had no idea it was a problem.” 

Audience member Rick Schmidt said six members of his family participate in the sprint and Half Ironman events each year. His voice quivered with emotion, as Schmidt said his granddaughter has taken part in the event since 2013 and came back from Seattle to participate this year. 

“My grandsons came back from college out of state to participate. We had a great time. Afterwards we get take-out from China Panda. We had a full house while they were here. We hope there is a way for this family friendly event to continue.”

The Chisago Lakes Triathlon is acknowledged as one of the most popular triathlons in Minnesota with 800 people registering for this year’s event. DuTriRun 

See CHISAGO CITY/2.

is a nonprofit corporation that coordinates a half-dozen runs of various lengths in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Ben West and his mother Gloria have been involved with the Triathlon since its inception, with Ben taking over as race director several years ago. 

Saying she was speaking for the Parks Commission, Zacho said, “They want to be done. They’ve all done things for the event, and they have kids who have volunteered. I had asked, “Do you want to talk about his more, and they said no, let it go to the council.

Some council members, on the other hand, seemed to want to take the question back to the park commission.

Councilmember Jeremy Dresel said, “I’m hoping we can find a solution. I would like to find a solution but I I would like to see the park board give its recommendation. We really rely on (their input) heavily.”

Councilmember Nikki Battles, who sits on the park commission, suggested the possibility of taking “a break” this coming year to explore a solution, but Zacho pointed out, “I know that (for events like this) continuity is so important. Just ask the race directors.”

Zacho said that demand for the city’s parks had increased in recent years with park facilities sometimes double-booked for events and that it wasn’t only the park commission but the fire department, police and other community organizations also experiencing the strain.

Zacho told the Wests that she wished they had come with their offers of assistance earlier. 

“We would have done that for anybody if we had known,” said Gloria West. “We had no idea these things needed to be addressed.

Dresel offered a glimmer of hope to West, saying there might be a possibility of reconsidering “if you can convince Doris and the park board to bring it back to the council.”

To Dresel’s comment Zacho responded, “I work for you (the city). They (the park board) said let it be done,” but Zacho indicated she would bring it back to the park commission if the council wanted her to do so.  

The council took no further action, but Councilmember Craig Meyer kept the door open a crack, telling the Wests, “We’ve kind of made a decision, but that doesn’t prevent you from putting a (new) proposal together.”

In a telephone conversation after the meeting, Gloria West indicated DuTriRun is willing to do what is necessary to come up with a new proposal to resolve any issues and to work with the community to keep the Triathlon going.      

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