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Public hearing tonight regarding Round Barn Farm  Share
A second public hearing will be held tonight (Thursday, June 18) at 6:30 p.m. in the community room, behind HomeStar Bank, regarding the first phase of development at the Round Barn Farm and Museum. The purpose of the public hearing is for community residents to comment on plans for the first phase and assist in setting the priorities for a $400,000 OSLAD (Open Space Land Acquisition Development) grant application. Hitchcock Design Group staff will be on hand to answer questions without the presence of the park board and director so residents can speak more freely. Designers will report the feedback to the board to assist in the decisions finalizing the OSLAD grant application which is due July 1. Hitchcock Design Group, official design planner for the Round Barn Farm and other facilities, presented a list of priorities for the park board at a hearing last week. The board has to choose from a list of priorities when resubmitting the districts application for the $400,000 OSLAD grant due in July.
''The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has adopted new scores, changing facility averages and point values for types of facilities.'' Steven Konters of Hitchcock explained to the board. ''We need to show what is an actual need in the community. What is underserved or not served at all.'' Showing a list of facilities that are planned for the Round Barn, the presentation broke down what the DNR considered an actual need, facilities that are underserved but already exist and what facilities the DNR believes are not a priority. Phase One of development at the Round Barn was divided into three tiers as the multi-million dollar project of developing the property overall must be broken down for grant applications and built over time due to costs. The first tier includes a special needs softball field, softball field, tennis courts, an asphalt driveway, gravel parking lot and interpretive signs. Tier two adds a multi-use trail, playground, tennis courts, soccer fields and site furniture. Tier three includes a splash pad, volleyball courts, fishing pier, picnic shelter, horseshoe pits and asphalt parking lot. Tier one and two alone are estimated to cost over $1.2 million. The estimated costs are inflated as volunteer labor and donated materials are not taken into consideration, and they include earth work and grading all the way to final landscaping. ''You will get the dollars even if you use volunteer or in-house labor,'' Konters added. ''But you cannot take your savings and build something else. You have to use the funds you receive to build what is on the list.'' ''These estimates, do they include contingency costs?'' Board President Bob Surdey asked. ''Assuming costs three years down the road will be higher?'' ''Yes,'' Konters responded. ''A special needs field is something that does not exist in the area,'' Konters continued as the board looked over priorities. ''I would say it is a priority over trails.'' ''A special needs field is a unique element that your region has a lot of community support for and a unique opportunity for partnerships,'' Konters added. In the phase one OSLAD development project, the board was leaning towards the paving of the entrance, gravel parking lot, special needs field and a softball field as priority for the purposes of the grant. ''Playground equipment or bathrooms can be added outside of the grant,'' Konters said. ''Those can be done in-house, by volunteers or donations,'' Konters added. ''Whatever is included in the grant will still be graded and turfed so it will be ready.'' The board should expect to hear if the $400,000 grant was awarded sometime between November of this year and January 2010. Matt Robbins requested that copies of the presentation be distributed at the June 18 hearing so residents can follow along and make notes to themselves during the presentation. The board is hoping for a good turnout and community input, although they are on a tight timeline. It was announced in May that the original grant application was denied, having just missed reaching the new bar of criteria. If the district does not meet the July 1 deadline, it will be 2010 before another application can be submitted for the grant. Mary Bernhard is a reporter for Russell Publications.
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