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Mound council says parks-review workshop aimed at strategy, denies plan to sell parks
Summary
City leaders told residents at the Sept. 9 meeting that a recent parks workshop was a high-level strategy session, not a plan to sell parks; council scheduled a public workshop Oct. 23 to clarify next steps for a handful of small parcels.
Several residents raised alarms this month after a parks workshop aired on local media and was described online as discussion of selling parks. At the Sept. 9 Mound City Council meeting, Mayor Holt and other council members said the workshop was meant as a high-level strategy conversation about how to use and maintain small parcels the city currently owns, not as a directive to sell public parks.
The council said the workshop—initiated earlier this year by two council members to get ideas on long-term strategy—identified a short list of small, little-used parcels and open spaces for further study. "It was a workshop for us to just chat about because we can't talk behind closed doors," Mayor Holt said at the meeting. "That doesn't mean we're selling."
Why it matters: Residents who learned of the workshop through TV or social posts interpreted the session as a plan to sell parks to fund other projects, prompting public concern and requests for clarification from Parks & Open Spaces Commission members.
At the Sept. 9 meeting, resident Kim Bolibernik said she was surprised and disturbed by news reports that suggested parks would be sold to raise revenue. Council members and staff replied that the workshop's intent was to inventory parks, assess maintenance costs and uses, and consider alternatives such as repurposing underused strips (for example, converting a wooded parcel into a dog area or native-plant runoff garden). The council emphasized that commons holdings and dock-related properties would not be considered for sale.
Council member Pugh said the review is “about evaluating and trying to come up with a long term strategy” and noted maintenance capacity as a driver for the conversation. The council described plans to take a narrower short list—roughly three or four small parcels—and ask the Parks & Open Spaces Commission to study them and return recommendations. The council scheduled a public workshop on parks for Oct. 23 at 5:00 p.m. and said staff will circulate clearer workshop materials before that meeting.
What’s next: The council asked staff to prepare a concise workshop agenda and supporting materials and to post them with the usual public notice so residents can see what will be discussed. Council members repeated that no sales have been proposed or approved and that any formal recommendation for changes to park ownership or use would come through the Parks & Open Spaces Commission and the council with full public notice.
Ending: City officials asked residents to attend the Oct. 23 workshop or contact staff with questions; the council said it will post background materials online before the session.
