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Isanti council approves $400,000 Bluebird Park upgrade; directs work on multiple park projects
Summary
Council accepted a $109,805 manufacturer grant and approved using $400,000 in park-dedication funds to replace Bluebird Park equipment with an inclusive playground; it also moved skate-park repairs forward, authorized a BMX roof RFP and approved portable snowmaking guns for the sledding hill.
Isanti City Council voted on Sept. 3 to accept a manufacturer grant and proceed with a $509,807 Bluebird Park replacement project, which after a $109,805 awarded grant will cost the city $400,000. The park plan emphasizes accessible surfacing and equipment designed to accommodate children with mobility needs; the grant must be accepted and the predesigned structures ordered by Oct. 25, 2024, to preserve the award.
Sha'Caria Lee, a park-board member and resident, told council the upgrade would make the park more usable for her son and other children with mobility needs: "I do think that this is a worthwhile, investment and enhancement to our city... to be able to move him in his physical wheelchair changes the game." Council approved accepting the grant and moving forward with the project on a 4—2 vote.
Council also addressed a package of park items during the same meeting. Members voted 5—0 to advance repairs to the Bluebird Park skate park (repair estimate about $17,000; the CIP included $29,000 next year) rather than wait. Staff presented larger long-term options for a concrete skate park (roughly $400,000) and a pump track (roughly $300,000) for future consideration.
Separately, the council authorized staff to issue a request for proposals to inspect and tighten/replace loose interior-roof bolts at the indoor arena/BMX facility after an engineering review flagged multiple loose bolts; staff cited an initial cost estimate near $80,000 and recommended an RFP process to get firm pricing. The council also approved purchasing portable snowmaking guns (Wild Mountain recommended about five units) plus any needed pressure-washer equipment using park-dedication funds to winterize and extend the sledding hill season.
What changed: the council redirected park-dedication funds originally set aside for a splash-park project toward an inclusive playground and also advanced near-term repair work on the skate park. For the Bluebird project, staff will proceed with ordering predesigned structures and coordinate installation details, salvaging reusable parts where feasible.
Next steps: staff will accept the grant by the vendor deadline (Oct. 25, 2024), finalize procurement and installation schedules, return with budget amendments or CIP adjustments for the skate-park work, and issue the RFP for interior-roof proposals.
