03-05-2018 Park Commission Packet

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21 Park Name: Big Island Nature Park Classification: Community Park Location: Big Island, Lake Minnetonka Size (in acres): 56 Description: Facilities: Docks Beach Small Building Trails Adjacent Land Use: Season Recreational Cabins Special use Groups/ Stakeholders: Minnehaha Creek Watershed District Restrictions or Conditions: A majority of the site is in a Conservation Easement. The park is managed under the Big Island Management plan, 2011. The park has it own section in the city Code Article IV, Sections 22-111 thru 116 Notes: The Park is intended to serve a dual role in preservation of a unique natural setting while offering the public a variety of passive recreational opportunities. The land on which the Park lies has a rich history of recreational use that today’s casual passerby might never have imagined. It was home to an amusement park in the early 1900s operated by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company This regional attraction lasted only 6 seasons before it closed and was eventually dismantled. Remnants of the grandeur of the Big Island Amusement Park can still be found on the site, including the grand entry portal stairway and old foundation remnants hidden among the Island’s wooded glens. In 1923 the property became the Big Island Veterans Camp, offering camping and other recreational opportunities to Minnesota’s war veterans. Use of the camp by veterans and their families continued until 2003, when the Vets Camp Board of Governors voted to dispose of the property and use the proceeds for other veterans needs throughout Minnesota. The City of Orono stepped up and in partnership with the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District obtained a grant from the State of Minnesota to purchase the property for park purposes. PIDs Acres How and When Acquired 23-117-23 21 0001 23-117-23 22 0001 14-117-23 34 0001 46.12 4.67 5.66 City purchase in 2006 with $2M State/$3M City/$850K MCWD