MORRIS CITY — A local NextGen team presented plans for a 23,000-square-foot inclusive playground at Eastside Park on a three-phase timeline and asked the city to endorse Landscape Structures (LSI) as the preferred vendor for phase 1.

"Our theme, reimagine, renew, and reconnect captures the heart of this project," said a NextGen spokesperson, describing a design that includes a 23,000 sq. ft. playground, a 60-by-100 parking lot and a phased program of bathrooms, a pavilion and band-shell improvements. The group estimated phase 1 would cost about $2,000,000 and said the playground would be "fully accessible" using a pour-in-place surface and ramps so children with mobility aids can use the equipment.

Mark Hendrickson, vice president of operations for Landscape Structures, told the council the company would support the project locally and bring experience building accessible, themed playgrounds. "You will have my personal commitment," Hendrickson said, pledging to return for exact site measurements to minimize unnecessary tree removal.

But Friends of Eastside Park and many neighborhood residents urged caution. "We don't think East Side Park is the right location for the largest playground in Minnesota," said Liz Morrison of Friends of Eastside Park. She and other speakers said Eastside is a two-acre, tree-rich "town square" and that the committee's footprint could remove roughly two dozen mature and younger canopy trees and permanently replace green space with fenced playground and parking.

Friends members distributed graphics and calculations they said were drawn to scale; one presenter stated their count showed roughly 28 trees would be removed in the proposed layout. They argued other Minnesota destination playgrounds sit in much larger parks and urged the council to explore alternatives such as Palmiter/Palm Beach Park or sites north of Highway 28 before committing to a central, residential location.

City staff and council members pressed both sides on technical details: how many trees would actually need removal (public works estimated around 14 in earlier park-board discussions), how the poured-in-place surface handles runoff, whether fencing and high-traffic use would increase vandalism risk, and how the city would handle long-term maintenance and insurance costs. NextGen said they plan a formal park-board recommendation and a public hearing on site location in January; the group hopes to raise funds through 2025 and complete construction by summer 2026.

Council action focused narrowly on vendor selection rather than site approval. The council voted to recommend LSI as the vendor of choice for phase 1 of the Inclusive Park Plan; the vote was taken by roll call and the motion passed. Council members emphasized that vendor selection does not finalize the park site and that detailed site, tree, drainage and maintenance questions will be handled at the park-board meeting and at the January public hearing.

What's next: The park board is scheduled to discuss a recommendation on Jan. 8 and the council has scheduled a public hearing on site location for Jan. 14. NextGen said it will return with refined designs and tree measurements; Friends of Eastside Park urged the council to slow the process and explore additional locations before committing to a site.

Actions: The council recorded a motion recommending LSI as the recommended vendor for phase 1 of the Inclusive Park Plan; the motion passed on roll call. The council also set a public hearing date for site-location questions in January.