03-27-2000 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item 2 - Project Narrative Since prehistoric times, the area now known as Navarre has been a crossroads - a way to traverse between the bays of Lake Minnetonka. In»-ian trails ran from north to south and east to west The point where they converged was an x-shaped bi^ of land nearly in the center of Lake Minnetonka. It took 100 lumbeijack-S to clear the big woods of Navarre and make way for the railroads. Along the way, the area changed its name several times - from Tazasl a to Island City to Langdon and finally to Navane, after a park in Paris. Throughout the nineteenth cenUiry, the railways brought day trippers and summer people to grand hotels and lakeside cabins in the area. Navarre was such an important destination that, in 1853, it was proposed as the capital city of Minnesota. In 1955, when Orono was incorporated as a village virtually all the open space in the Navarre area - both lakeshore and inland - was gone. Navarre featured a small neighborhood business district: several gas stations, a hardware store, grocery store, pharmacy, tavern and other assorted shops. Orono, still predominantly rural, had few development guidelines to handle this urban area in its midst. Parks were never a - priority, because the lake, and large lot rural development, so dominated the city’s concept of recreation. When, in 1979, Orono acquired by tax forfeiture a prominently situated .92 acre lot fronting County Road 19, it became a park in name only. Over the years, Navarre Park gained some “improvements” like a rusty slide, a creaking merry-go- round, and a chain link fence. No thought was given, no money appropriated, to accessibility amenities like paths, benches, picnic tables and modem play equipment that \\ ould make the park hospitable to children and families. Yet, Navarre Park is the front yard of the City of Orono and the only park within a two-mile radius. Today, with an active Parks and Open Space Commission, Orono is addressing the deferred needs of its parks, many acquired decades ago in a haphazard fashion. Navarre Park, although small, is the most visible of all Orono parks, and serves the area of highest need. Navarre is by far Orono ’s most densely populated neighborhood. Its houses - the smallest, oldest and least expensive in Orono - are turning over from elderly couples to young families. Navarre’s households report the lowest income in Orono - 53 percent less than $50,000 and 71 percent less than $70,000. They are also the most in need of recreational options because of the smaller homes and lots. With a DNR grant to supplement the city’s limited park dedication ftmds, Navarre Park can be a welcoming oasis for children and families. The park ’s natural attributes include its visibility to passers by, tall trees, a gentle slope and an ideal site for modem play stmctures. The park can be accessed by car from County Road 19 and through the municipal parking lot on County Road 15. Families can walk to the park on quiet back streets, without braving the narrow shoulders of hazardous county roads that lack sidewalks. Navarre Park is too small to be a showpiece and too noisy for contemplation. Yet in a densely populated neighborhood without any green space, it has an important role to play in community life.