A basketball court and a larger concession stand at Spring Lake park are planned for the coming summer, along with electrical upgrades at Squirrel Hollow Park and Hyde Park, according to county conservation director Dan Towers.
Those plans were part of his budget presentation to the county supervisors Tuesday.
American Athletic Inc recently donated a basketball backboard and hoop; the court will be the county’s only expense. Spring Lake is very busy during the summer, with about 1,000 visitors on a weekend including campers and their guests, according to Towers. He considers the concession stand to be more of a service than a money-maker, although it does bring in revenue.
The electrical upgrades at Squirrel Hollow and Hyde Park will bring them up from only 30 amp service.
The total cost of the planned improvements is $30,000. They will be paid for with camping revenues.
Towers reported a second year of record-setting camping receipts, from $130,000 in FY15 to $141,000 in FY16. The conservation department had total revenue of $173,000.
Towers projects operating and other expenses for FY 18 at $440,000. Considering revenue, the net tax asking is $260,000, about $25 per county resident.
Towers also included in his budget $12,500 for crack sealing on the Raccoon River Valley Trail.
