Frequently Asked Questions

The Parks Master Plan is a high-level plan for the parks system that is updated every 10-20 years. It is not a final construction plan for each park, it is a framework for making improvements to each park as funding is available. It may be possible to implement a small project using just the Parks Master Plan but almost all large projects will require additional design work and construction planning. Very large projects (i.e.  a new public pool) may require more public engagement in addition to design work and construction planning.

The City is hoping to pay for many park improvement projects with the help of grant funding. Most grant-making organizations are not willing to fund projects that are not “fully baked” with clearly demonstrated community support. Having an up-to-date parks master plan is very important if the City wants its grant applications to be taken seriously. 

Landscape architecture is a specialized profession that involves specific training. The City does not have any landscape architects on staff and there are no “in-house” City employees who have the right qualifications to oversee the technical aspects of updating the Parks Master Plan. Because of this, the update is being handled by a project team that includes City Staff and a qualified consultant group that was selected via an open Request for Proposal (RFP) process. 

The City received three proposals in response to the RFP. A selection committee advised the City Council to go with a proposal from consultant group HKGI. The HKGI proposal was impressive and had the lowest total cost of the three proposals. The City Council approved a contract with HKGI at their June 5, 2023, meeting to update the Parks Master Plan. The not-to-exceed cost for the contract is $69,600 and there is also an $800 budget for reimbursable expenses. 

The updated Parks Master Plan was prepared over the course of a full year with careful analysis, discussions with the City Council and advisory commissions, and robust community engagement. The community engagement included online and mailed surveys, in-person engagement at community events, an open house at the new library, and interactive online maps. A full draft of the proposed plan was released on the City’s website on August 5, 2024 and the community has been invited to review the plan and provide feedback. The plan is now being brought to the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, and the Sustainability Task Force. Each group will be invited to provide feedback before the plan is brought to the City Council for final review.

The community’s ballfields are fully utilized during peak times. Reducing the number of ballfields would have a tangible impact on local ball teams.

The City maintains eleven (11) playgrounds in city parks throughout the community. Nine (9) of the playgrounds were built in the early 1990’s using funding that was approved in a parks referendum that passed in 1990. The average useful life of a playground is roughly 20 years so all nine (9) of these playgrounds are at the end of their useful life. Replacement pieces are no longer being made for 30-year-old playground equipment which means that play structures often must be blocked off if something breaks. The City has plans to replace all nine (9) of the worn-out playgrounds in the coming years and the Preliminary 2025 Budget and Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) call for replacing several playgrounds in 2025.

Many Minnesota communities built outdoor swimming pools during the 1930’s through the 1960’s. The Northview Pool in South St. Paul was constructed in 1956. Even with proper maintenance, outdoor swimming pools do not last forever. Almost all the pools that were built in Minnesota during the 1930’s through the 1960’s have reached the end of their useful lives and have either failed or are currently failing. Some communities have demolished their old pools without rebuilding them. Other communities have decided to rebuild or replace their failing pools which comes at a significant cost. The City of Apple Valley is moving forward with replacing its failing outdoor swimming pool, which is 9 years younger than the Northview Pool, at a cost of about $6.5 million. The City of Crystal is moving forward with overhauling its outdoor swimming pool, which is 12 years younger than the Northview Pool, at a cost of about $5.35 million.

Historically, the South St. Paul community has been very focused on maintaining the “status quo” when it comes to aquatics. The voters have sent clear signals to the City Council over the years that they want the Northview Pool kept operational using short-term solutions (AKA band-aid solutions). The voters have rejected previous attempts at big picture solutions that came with a higher price tag. Here is a timeline of important milestones with the existing aquatics program:

• In 1955, the City Council called for a referendum to fund the construction of the Northview Pool. Voters approved the referendum and $85,000 worth of bonds were issued to fund the construction of the pool.
• The last time the voters agreed to make a significant investment in the community’s aquatics program was in 1990. Voters passed a referendum which authorized a $975,000 bond measure to replace playgrounds citywide and build the Splash Pool at Lorraine Park. 
• The City did extensive planning for the future of the aquatics program in the late 1990’s. In 2001, the voters rejected a two-part referendum that would have done two things:
  • Spent $3.3 million to build a new full-size pool at Lorraine Park to replace McLain Pool which broke down in 1999 and was beyond repair. McLain Pool had been built in the 1930’s.
  • Spent $1.1 million to renovate the Northview Pool.
• The City held a parks referendum in 2014 to fund big-ticket items from the 2005 Parks Master Plan. The City hired a professional consulting firm to conduct a survey of the community to determine which big-ticket items had community support and should be included in the referendum. Many voters indicated in the survey that they would “vote no” if the outdoor pools were part of the referendum so the pools were not included. Part of the problem was that voters did not agree what should happen next with the aquatics program. Many voters disagreed with the 2005 Parks Master Plan’s call for closing the Northview Pool and building a new aquatic center at Lorraine Park.
• The Northview Pool was constructed in 1956 and is still operating with its original mechanical equipment which is now almost 70 years old. The mechanical equipment is past the end of its useful life and could fail at any time. If that happens, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will require the pool to shut down. MDH already required the old kiddie pool at Northview Park to be shut down in 2009 and it was demolished shortly thereafter. 
• The Northview Pool’s shell is still original and is in poor condition. The pool leaked roughly 12,000 gallons of water each day in 2023 but most of the leaking was temporarily resolved prior to the start of the 2024 pool season with the patching of surface cracks. 

The City’s current parks master plan, which was approved almost 20 years ago in 2005, calls for closing Northview Pool and building a new aquatic center at Lorraine Park. Obviously, that never moved forward, and Northview Pool has continued to operate. The proposed 2024 Parks Master Plan avoids taking a stand on whether the City should consolidate aquatic facilities or continue to operate a split system where one pool is at Lorraine and one pool is at Northview. Instead, it lays out two different alternatives that the City could pursue:

ALTERNATIVE 1:  The City maintains the “status quo” by demolishing the Northview Pool and rebuilding a new full-sized swimming pool in the same location. When the splash pool at Lorraine Park reaches the end of its useful life, the City will demolish the splash pool and rebuild a new splash pool at Lorraine Park.

ALTERNATIVE 2: The City consolidates the aquatics program at Lorraine Park and builds a new full-sized swimming pool next to the splash pool. The City demolishes the Northview Pool and replaces it with a new set of park amenities. In the draft concept plan, Northview Park would receive a splash pad or similar water feature that would be shallow enough that it would not need to be staffed with lifeguards.   

To determine which of the two alternatives moves forward, City will undertake a Pool Feasibility and Design Study which will launch in Fall of 2024. The City will need to partner with a consultant group that has extensive knowledge of pool construction and design. The City put out a Request for Proposal (RFP) earlier this summer and five (5) proposals were received by the August 27^th submittal deadline.

The City wants to do at least three things as part of the Pool Feasibility and Design Study:

1. Analyze and refine the two concept plan alternatives for aquatic facilities at Northview Park and Lorraine Park that are presented in the 2024 Parks Master Plan. Provide capital and operating cost estimates and revenue generation assumptions for each of the two alternatives.

2. After the cost estimates and revenue generation assumptions are prepared, conduct community engagement to reach consensus about which of the two concept plan alternatives voters prefer and are willing to financially support. Determine what level of overall financial support voters are willing to provide.

After documenting the community’s consensus, the consultant team will give a recommendation regarding which alternative should move forward and provide an implementation strategy. The recommendation should include information that will help local leaders understand the service area of the pools, potential users, an appropriate fee schedule, economic development/business partnerships, and any other revenue opportunities or other opportunities that may help offset the cost of investing in new aquatics facilities.

Representative Rick Hansen attempted to secure $500,000 from the State Legislature during the 2024 session for the City of South St. Paul to fully design a new pool to replace the Northview Pool. Unfortunately, the Legislature adjourned without passing a bonding bill and many communities had their funding goals frustrated.

The consultant team that is selected to assist the City with the upcoming Pool Feasibility and Design Study will be asked to provide an implementation strategy for funding a new pool in South St. Paul. That will include advising the City Council about any outside funding sources that may be available to defray the cost of constructing a new pool.

It is unusual and expensive for a small suburban community to operate two full-sized swimming pools at separate locations with separate mechanical systems, bathhouse buildings, concessions, and lifeguards. Public outdoor pools in Minnesota are a great amenity but they lose money, they do not make money. Revenue from admissions and concessions can help with operating costs but generally will not touch the capital costs of constructing the pool in the first place. In recent years, there have been labor shortages which have made it more difficult and expensive to find qualified lifeguards. This makes it even more challenging to operate two separate public pools that each need a team of lifeguards.

The City understands that many residents love the “status quo” which is why it is being included as one of the alternatives. Preserving the status quo is going to be more expensive than consolidating aquatics facilities at Lorraine Park. The Pool Feasibility and Design Study will identify how expensive each alternative will be so that voters can make an informed choice about whether the added costs are worth it to preserve the “status quo.” Northview Park is significantly smaller than Lorraine Park which limits which types of pool design can be implemented. This will also be explored further in the Pool Feasibility and Design Study.

Communities do sometimes get lucky and find a wealthy donor or grantmaking organization that is willing to fund or partially fund a big-ticket item in a public park. Some communities have also had success getting the State Legislature to assist with funding a recreational facility if it is a regional facility that serves many non-local users. The City of Crystal was successful in convincing the State Legislature that their outdoor pool serves many different communities and the State Legislature agreed to pay almost half of the $5.35 million cost of renovating their pool.

If the City of South St. Paul does not receive a windfall in the form of “free” money provided by the State Legislature or a private donor, there are essentially only two ways to fund a big-ticket item. Smaller big-ticket items like playgrounds can be built into the annual budget and CIP if the City does just a few projects each year. A small playground typically costs at least $125,000 while a larger playground will cost upwards of $200,000. Very large big-ticket items like an outdoor swimming pool can generally only be afforded with borrowed money (i.e. bonding) and this would require a voter-approved referendum.

Many people believe that a referendum is the fairest way to fund a large big-ticket recreational amenity like a swimming pool because the residents who vote for the referendum will get to use the new swimming pool while they are paying for it through increased property taxes. If residents do not want the big-ticket item and do not believe that it is worth the tax increase, they can vote down the referendum. It is worth noting that Northview Pool’s initial construction was paid for via a voter-approved referendum in 1955.

Some community members have suggested during public engagement that the City should have raised taxes decades ago to establish a special fund that could be used now to build a new pool with cash and without a referendum. That type of approach is generally not politically feasible because it means that the people paying for the new pool may never even get to use it. It would be very unusual for elected officials to raise taxes on current residents to establish a fund to pay for future recreational amenities that will exclusively benefit future residents. 

Kaposia Park is mostly comprised of wooded areas but there is a small open space on Conver Avenue that currently hosts two tennis courts. The soil in this area is unstable which means that the tennis courts have cracked and fallen into disrepair much more quickly than anticipated. The Parks Department has observed that the two tennis courts get little use and they do not believe that it is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds to restore the two tennis courts when they will just fall into disrepair again soon because of the unstable soils. 

A “food forest” of fruit trees was viewed as a fun, low-cost, and low-impact way to utilize this existing open space in a manner that will work with its unstable soils. The City was surprised to receive feedback from residents living on Conver Avenue who stated that they like having the tennis courts in their neighborhood and want them restored so that they will be playable again. Some residents also expressed concern that a large food forest would become a community destination that would drive traffic to the neighborhood. Considering the feedback, the proposed Parks Master Plan has been amended with a compromise solution. The plan proposes installing one (1) tension-reinforced tennis court which will be more expensive to construct than a standard tennis court but should hold up and remain playable for many years even with the poor soil conditions. Fruit trees will be planted on the remainder of the site as a fun and low-cost way to use the existing open space. 

The proposed picnic shelter will be completely open-sided so that it does not disrupt views and it can be given an elegant design that will complement the aesthetics of the area. The final location of the shelter is ultimately up to the City Council, but City Staff feels strongly that shelter should be in the north end of the park so that it can provide shade to families that are using the playground that is located on the north end of the park. Grandview Park is likely going to see a large uptick in usage because there is new residential development on Concord Exchange, and Grandview is the closest park with a playground. Grandview Park needs to have appropriate amenities that will support families using the park and it will become an even more attractive destination after its very old playground is replaced in 2025.

No, the City is not planning to sell off any of its parkland. It is unclear exactly where this rumor started but City Staff wants to assure the public that there have been no discussions of selling off parkland for real estate development. Due to the way that it was acquired, some of the City’s parkland is subject to deed restrictions that require the land to continue to be used as a public park into perpetuity. 

In 2021, the City purchased a 6.41-acre property next to Jefferson Park from the South St. Paul Public School District for $1 million. The 6.41-acre property was the former site of Jefferson School which was demolished in 2016. There were some discussions in 2020 and 2021 about what the “highest and best use” of the 6.41-acre property might be and there was some talk about housing development at that time. The City purchased the property from the School District with the primary goal of expanding Jefferson Park and the proposed Parks Master Plan calls for all of the 6.41-acre property to be officially added to Jefferson Park. The proposed plan does not call for any of this land to be sold off for real estate development.