City of Shakopee wishes ideas for the future of SandVenture | Shakopee News

The chlorinated sand-base pond in Shakopee was built in 1969 and has been a preferred summer time vacation spot for Shakopee people, Shakopee Parks and Recreation Director Jay Tobin reported in July, even though it’s not a income-generator for the metropolis. In the previous 10 yrs, the metropolis has paid an regular of $227,000 each year in important expenditures to preserve SandVenture up and operating — money that will come from the city’s working levy.

In 2019, it cost $333,700 to keep the park up and managing, and the city only introduced in $183,600 from advertising memberships, lessons and concessions. That indicates, on normal, just about every domestic in Shakopee paid out about $7 in home taxes to continue to keep the pool likely last calendar year. But there’s a difficulty according to city staff: the pool is obtaining aged, and ahead of extra funds can be generated from it, additional money needs to be put in.

In July, workers offered the council with two options to incorporate upgrades to the aquatic park to potentially boost profits and lessen SandVenture’s burden on taxpayers about the prolonged-expression. Just one solution was to go after the define in the Parks and Recreation Grasp Strategy, which contains including a restaurant, pool cabanas and a sand volleyball courtroom. The parks plan encouraged the city execute a business enterprise prepare investigation to glance into the lengthy-expression economic rewards of these advancements, Director of Scheduling and Progress Michael Kerski stated.

The other option was to fully raze and reconstruct the aquatic park, adding h2o slides and other points of interest, which would price tag $11 million. Council seemed to anonymously rule this possibility out for now, although there was no vote. Kerski stated the “payback on this is a pretty lengthy time,” and the council did not convey enthusiasm for the option.

The council gave town staff consensus to pursue the needed $800,000 in maintenance repairs and a chlorine method update, and directed personnel seem into methods SandVenture could sooner or later both create much more funds or run below fewer funds.

The group is now invited to share concepts in regards to the park employing the city’s new interactive engagement tool, according to a release from the metropolis.

Recommendations can be posted to the on the net thought wall, and solutions for all round enhancements to Lions Park can be produced on the city’s concept map.

Inhabitants are also encouraged to inquire park planners queries about possible park improvements.

Get the most recent updates on the proposed SandVenture advancements by subscribing for news at www.ShakopeeMN.gov/subscribe and selecting “SandVenture Advancements.”