NEWS

Terrace Park paths saved, design plans delayed

Patrick Anderson
panderson@argusleader.com
Nancy Tapken, president of the Terrace Park Neighborhood Association, is pleased that  city officials have delayed plans for this year to revamp the park and rip out some of the quartzite pathways.

The reddish stone pathways at Terrace Park are safe.

On Wednesday, city officials delayed plans for this year to revamp the park and rip out some of the quartzite pathways after neighbors raised concerns just days before construction was scheduled to begin.

“We obviously would rather not be doing this,” Parks and Recreation Director Don Kearney said. “But in the spirit of getting it right and having the neighborhood and community behind us, without question, it’s important we take the extra time.”

Work won’t get underway until 2018, giving officials more time to work on the design and get the community involved in the process.

Just weeks ago, Aaron Skonhovd was so sure the walkways were going away he videotaped them during a walk with his dog.

The 38-year-old chiropractor lives near the park and walks his greyhound Luke along the quartzite paths every day.

Stalled Terrace Park project will cost taxpayers

“It’s better to do it right than to move ahead and have something not be the way the city and the community wants it,” Skonhovd said.

The delay results from a last-minute curveball served by the Sioux Falls Board of Historic Preservation, which denied two versions of the plan this month — the original and a proposed compromise. Terrace Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in September, and in spite of the park’s change in status, officials waited until just before construction was set to begin to bring their initial plans to the preservation board.

Kent Staubus produces images during the Argus Leader photo walk at the Japanese Gardens in Terrace Park.

Parks staff and landscape contractor Confluence have been working on a master plan for Terrace Park for years, and already met with state historical experts and community members before presenting the plan to the local board, Kearney said. Construction was scheduled to run through 2020, but officials wanted to do some upgrades this year to celebrate the park’s 100th anniversary.

The city’s summer to-do list for Terrace Park included ripping out segments of the diagonal quartzite pathways and replacing them with more accessible concrete paths. Officials had planned to spend $176,000 on the project, and some of the money is already gone.

Preservation board rejects Terrace Park plans again

Officials will be able to recoup some of the lost taxpayer money by reusing materials purchased to upgrade the park, Kearney said.

Between design and construction for this year’s project, the city has spent $39,415, of which $5,000 was spent on materials that can be repurposed.

Nancy Tapken, president of the Terrace Park Neighborhood Association, was pleased with the decision. Tapken raised concerns about the city's initial design to the local historic preservation board. After debating a potential compromise, the board nixed the design and told parks officials to start again from scratch.

“I’ve had people coming out of the woodwork to say ‘We’re behind it,’ ” Tapken said. “It’s not just the neighbors that want this park maintained.”

City officials wanted the changes to bring the park up to the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. City Hall will work to engage the neighbors in a new design before work begins on the park, but it also can’t forgo safety, Kearney said.

“What we’re going to have to do is really balance the historic preservation with the handicap accessibility,” Kearney said. “At end of the day, we want a great Terrace Park; that’s what we’re really after.”