Bella Park's missing picnic table prompts board to pursue security cameras
Apr. 19—WORTHINGTON — The Okabena-Ocheda Watershed District's board of managers approved the purchase of two picnic table kits during its Tuesday meeting after learning that someone has stolen one of the two remaining picnic tables located in Bella Park.
The watershed district owns and manages the park property south of Worthington, and this isn't the first time amenities have either been damaged or stolen from the park.
Watershed Director Dan Livdahl said the price of a new, heavy duty picnic table would cost about $800, but a kit could be purchased for about half that cost.
"Do we put another table out there or say, 'This is why we can't have nice things?'" Livdahl asked the board.
The question led to recollections by Board President Rolf Mahlberg of past incidents, one of which included retrieving parts of picnic tables after they'd been carried into Lake Bella. Another incident required the use of a boom truck to remove three picnic tables from atop the roof of one of the shelters.
Livdahl said there used to be 20 picnic tables in the park, but they've had just one table in each of the two shelters for the past four or five years.
"They are used a lot," Livdahl said, noting he often sees people using the shelters when he's in the park.
Along with the motion to purchase two picnic table kits, Manager Jay Milbrandt suggested placing security cameras in Bella Park, as well as signage alerting visitors that security cameras are in place.
"I get so sick of people disrespecting stuff," Milbrandt said, making a motion to purchase cameras to install in the park. The motion was approved on a unanimous vote.
In other business, the board:
* Learned that engineers working to design a dam and water storage structure on District 518 property near the Intermediate School will need to redesign the structure, including creating a smaller pool with a reduced elevation in order to get a state permit for the project.
Livdahl said the smaller pool won't get the project to the goal of removing 300 pounds of phosphorus and sediment from water before it flows into Lake Okabena.
"The pond will be redesigned; it will have a lower capacity for pollution removal," he said. "We have many months of permitting ahead of us. I don't see construction happening this year."
The district was awarded a grant to do the project, which will need to be used by the end of 2025. Livdahl said he is hopeful the permits will be issued once the project is redesigned and construction can take place in 2025.
* Received an update on plans for Lake Ocheda in which the advisory board suggested using pumps to do a full drawdown of the 1,800-acre, three-basin lake as a way to encourage vegetative growth and improve water quality.
Livdahl asked Ducks Unlimited about creating a feasibility study and coming up with a cost to put in pumping stations for a full drawdown. The cost of that study would have been $40,000, with Livdahl saying the watershed district wasn't interested in moving forward at this time.
Another option — suggested by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — is to talk to riparian landowners about doing a year-long lake drawdown, rather than the winter-time drawdowns that have been attempted in recent years.
No action was taken on the idea at Tuesday's meeting.
* Approved a permit for the city of Worthington for stormwater pollution prevention during the planned reconstruction of Third and Fourth avenues between Ninth and 11th streets.
* Approved the 2024 annual plan and budget and the 2023 annual watershed district report.
* Approved updates to the employee handbook, including recognizing Juneteenth (June 19) as a federal holiday, adding the safe and sick leave benefit, and adding language regarding holiday pay with the reduction in the administrator's hours. Any holiday that would land on a Friday — the administrator's day off — would not result in holiday pay.
