Council approves Bolton & Menk to complete Forest Lake parks master plan and analyze park dedication fees

Forest Lake City Council approved a consulting proposal from Bolton & Menk to complete the Parks Master Plan and to analyze park dedication fees, with staff recommending that the project (including alternates) be funded from park dedication funds.

Staff said Bolton & Menk — the firm that prepared the earlier work on the 2014 and draft 2022 plans — provided a scope of services to finish the master plan for $28,500 and offered additional alternates (public open house, trail corridor analysis tied to the comprehensive plan update and a park dedication fee analysis). Staff recommended adding the alternates and the park-fee analysis for a combined cost of $55,800, and the Parks Commission unanimously recommended council approval.

“The study is the exact justification for that [park dedication] fee,” a city attorney advising the council said, explaining that a defensible park dedication fee must be aligned with a capital improvements and master-plan analysis so developers cannot easily challenge the charge.

Councilors discussed the value of completing the plan, acknowledged some skepticism about additional studies, and noted the timing fits the 2028 comprehensive plan update. A council motion to approve the Parks Plan Consulting Services proposal passed by voice vote; the meeting record shows a brief clarification in the motion about the approved amount, and the council then voted in favor.

Staff said the work would help refine park dedication rates, guide future trail and park investments (including North Shore Trail work), and provide updated demographic and capital-improvement context the city will use in permitting and budgeting decisions.