Updated renovations to Goerke Park

STEVENS POINT - At the Board of Park Commissioners meeting on August 6, board members evaluated and ultimately approved moving forward with an updated proposal for renovations to Goerke Park.
This newest proposal includes plans for a 50,000-square-foot aquatic center on the north end of the park along with a newly-installed playground, pickleball courts, an updated basketball court, and a paved overflow parking lot, in addition to other changes.
In alignment with strong community feedback, the updated proposal for the park no longer includes an inflatable sports dome over a synthetic field and opts to preserve the historic Parker Building and Armory rather than demolishing them.
“This is the third or fourth rendering of our options for the park renovations,” said Dan Kremer, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Forestry. The Board has made several additional adjustments to the plans for renovations as a result of feedback from residents and non-residents collected in community surveys.
Out of the 563 residents and 358 non-residents who completed the surveys, 60% of residents and 65% of non-residents supported the construction of the new aquatic center. 51% of residents and 63% of non-residents supported the inflatable dome. The most commonly mentioned theme in the written surveys was a desire to preserve the warming house and the Armory building. The second-most commonly mentioned theme was a desire to remove the inflatable dome/climate-controlled facility, mostly due to the traffic congestion it would create, the unpleasant appearance, and its design being too small for proper tournaments.

Also as a result of community feedback, the plans now include the addition of a vegetation buffer on the North side of the park, which was requested to be placed between the Price Street homes that border the park and any improvements made in that area. Residents also expressed a desire for the Price Street access to the park to be pedestrian-access only. The new proposal reflects this with no driveway or curb-cut for vehicle traffic, allowing foot or bicycle traffic only.
“During the discussions at the end of our last meeting, pickleball courts were suggested to be added,” said Kremer. “You’ll see that the existing tennis courts do remain in this drawing, but four new pickleball courts are also shown, adjacent to the footprint of the aquatic center.”
Other things that have been updated in this current proposal are that the hockey rink will remain in its existing setup, and the field and green space will be left alone, which will allow the full ice rink to continue to be flooded in the wintertime. The shot put and discus areas will also remain in the same location.
“We also plan to do some cleanup on the pedestrian pathway that comes from the northeast side of the park,” said Kremer. The small ‘cattle path’ made from people cutting the corner will be improved and paved. A barrier will also be installed along the far side of the parking lot to prevent cars from parking on the grass during busy events.
Another notable feature of the new plans is the traffic-controlling gates, which will be installed at various places throughout the park. “Today, there’s signage all over the park that asks that during school days, there is no traffic cutting through or dropping off by the Boys and Girls Club and the police department,” said Kremer. “The police chief has spoken with me and asked if, during drop-off or pick-up time, a gate could be installed on an electronic timer to prevent people from cutting in front of bus traffic or cars that are coming into their lot.”
After this new proposal was outlined to the board, community members in attendance voiced their thoughts and concerns.
Trina Dorn, resident of Stevens Point, brought forward a request on behalf of the Copps family that the municipal pool or future aquatic center remain named after Donald Copps. She also voiced her hope that in the future, the historic warming house located near the ball diamonds could be used as a concession stand during games, making it a useful building.
Danielle Beltsky, CEO of the Stevens Point Boys and Girls Club, and Meg Earler, President of the Stevens Point Boys and Girls Club, both shared that their biggest concern with the current plans is the safety issue for kids due to traffic congestion in the parking lot.
“Right now, during our busiest time of year, we are seeing 200 kids attending the Boys and Girls Club, coming in and out of that parking lot daily. When you add in the traffic to the pool, on a 90-degree day, our parking lot is packed,” said Beltsky. “I’m very concerned about expanding to have a bigger aquatic center on the North End without having an easier public access point.”
Alternate suggestions to prevent traffic congestion were given, including the addition of a main entrance to the East of the aquatic center, where the pedestrian walkway is currently marked, or redirection of pool traffic to use PJ Jacob’s parking lot when it sits vacant during summer afternoons.
Although there was discussion of looking for an alternate location for the aquatic center, potentially at another park altogether, Kremer ultimately advocated for the aquatic center to be built where it is currently planned in Goerke Park. Kremer stands by the fact that the traffic concerns and safety concerns for kids can be managed in later design phases through strategically placing speed bumps, crosswalks, and sidewalks throughout the park, and that no other existing park in Stevens Point would be as viable of a location for the aquatic center.
Other board members expressed some thoughts about the updated proposal as well. Board member Liz McDonald mentioned the high cost of installing a full aquatic center, even as a multi-year project, and suggested inviting community members, local businesses, and organizations to show their support through fundraising. Board member Andy Hoff expressed his thoughts that the space behind the KB Willett Arena would be more frequently used if it remained as a field of green space for residents to enjoy, as opposed to being converted into overflow parking for sporting events.
With this new feedback taken into account, the board still decided to approve the current design for park renovations. The next step will be to receive a price estimate for the current plan, which will then be brought before the board again in October.