At last month’s Annual Meeting, we reflected on all the great work we have accomplished…
Business Member Highlight: SRF Consulting
Below is a contribution from GMPT Business Member SRF Consulting Group. For more information, please visit srfconsulting.com.
Bend in the River Regional Park is a 289-acre park in western Benton County, along the mighty Mississippi River, just south of Rice, MN, and was created through a land purchase around 2002 from the Graves family, who farmed the site from the early 20th century. Benton County—through the use of a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) grant—purchased the property to incorporate into their park system, which included preserving the historical farmstead buildings. To encourage public use and to be good stewards of the land, Benton County has utilized a variety of grants over the years to implement improvement projects that included prairie restoration, forest management, parking, trails, and other amenities.
In 2014, Benton County—through the MNDNR Legacy Grant funding—constructed a significant park improvement package that included additional parking areas, new trails, seasonal bathroom building, interpretive boards, and river/prairie overlooks that brought new interest in the park. Additional grant funds were sought out for other improvements, so Benton County and Stearns County teamed up to create the state-designated Great River Park Complex master plan, which combined both Bend in the River Regional Park (east side of the river) and Mississippi River County Park (west side of the river), respectively. In 2020, the Great River Park Complex was given regional designation by the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (GMRPTC), which qualified it for the MNDNR Legacy Grants, thus an application was submitted and awarded from the GMRPTC for a Phase 2 project.
SRF Consulting Group—led by Paul Schroeder—was engaged to help navigate desired improvements from the master plan and Benton County Park Commission preferences, then provided the necessary grant application submission, drafted the environmental assessment statement, coordinated additional archaeological studies, developed the design construction documents, and assisted with construction administration of the Phase 2 project. Interestingly enough, Paul, while at another firm, was the project manager for the 2014 park improvements and was excited to again help Benton County with this current construction phase.
Since grants can be difficult to obtain, SRF encouraged Benton County and the Park Commission to think big and incorporate as many of the master plan elements that they felt useful, since this park is really the crown jewel of the county. The County Board agreed and provided significant matching funds to make this project what it is today.
Although previous park highlights were walking trails, tree windbreaks, kayak/canoe launch, river overlooks, and a historical farmstead, the County wanted to increase usership, thus directing the project to incorporate connecting trails, a large picnic shelter/counter wall for rental (weddings/reunions/events), temporary parking delineators, a nature exploration area for the kids, and a Seek-and-Find interpretive board for park users to take a photo and find all the unique elements of the park—including the one rare Butternut tree. This was capped off with a new professionally developed Park Map graphic that illustrated all the key park elements, along with trail distances, to help users navigate their route.
To add further interest, the awarded construction bid was significantly below the estimate, and the County did not want to give up the available grant dollars, so additional related improvements were blessed by the GMRPTC and added to the project, such as top-dressing existing trails, unknown larger shelter footings, and a new water well for increased use of the bathroom and shelter.
For more information on the work of SRF Consulting Group, visit srfconsulting.com.
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