Rochester Park Bd reviews SF park master plan

The Rochester Park Board today reviewed a proposed master plan for the future of Soldiers Field Park - but held off making a decision

so some possible changes can be considered. The plan would be implemented in two phases over the next 10 - 20 years, or longer.

The first phase calls for changes to the north end of the park. Among the proposals - closing George Gibbs Drive to through traffic and eliminating the east ballpark. The major change in the second phase would be converting the golf course from 18 to 9 holes. This would allow more people to use the park for other purposes, such as skiing and hiking. But that proposal drew heavy criticism from many at the meeting, mostly golfers. The board eventually decided to revisit the proposal at its next meeting.

One feature that won’t be included in the park is a proposed veterans and emergency services museum. A local group that has been working on the proposed project asked the board to allow it to be located at Soldiers Field Park. But the request was rejected today on a unanimous vote as the board indicated it did not want to give up green space for the project.

The board was also given an update from UMR on its proposed campus plan located north of the park. Earlier concepts called for the use of parts of the park for the UMR campus, which the board did not favor. The board was told today the plan that will likely be adopted calls only for a possible land swap involving a small piece of property.