25-03-2025
Grand Forks City Council recommends moving forward with Greenway improvements south of 47th Avenue
Mar. 24—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks City Council recommended beginning the bidding process for improvements to the far southern end of the Greenway during its Committee of the Whole meeting Monday night.
The council voted 6-1 to move the recommendation to its next meeting, with council member Rebecca Osowski dissenting. The improvements will focus on the area between 47th Avenue South and 62nd Avenue South, roughly the southern limits of the Greenway. This area wasn't originally developed when the Greenway was built 20 years ago, since it was outside the city limits at the time.
"(Residents) like to go fishing down there; there's a nice, flat area along the river bank, but it has also been an area that's been vandalized and some unwanted activity has occurred there," Water Works Director Melanie Parvey said. "We feel that it'll be a nice enhancement and it would then allow our police department to be able to access this area a little bit more readily than they can now."
The improvements proposed include extending the paved trail, improving the fishing area and adding trash cans, all largely supported by nearby residents, according to a survey conducted in 2023 by the city. The total improvements are currently estimated at around $500,000, with construction to occur this year.
Some of the proposed improvements, like a parking lot at the lift station off Desiree Drive and a playground at 47th Avenue South, have been removed from the plan. The parking lot in particular was disliked by residents, with 54% of all respondents and 74% of Desiree Drive residents disliking those improvements. The area is the closet park space to the Shady Ridge neighborhood and when asked by the council, Parvey said that the space isn't very large.
"Anybody who bikes along the river and wants to fish could definitely come and utilize that space," Parvey said. "It's just not a very big space but it's well used by those that have found it and like to utilize it."
The funds for the project will come from a mix of flood protection and Greenway maintenance funds, a garrison diversion grant the city received and stormwater cash reserves. Osowski, who is often critical about using flood protection funds for these types of projects, again urged caution.
"I do have a concern, once again, with us pulling out of our flood protection and our cash reserves to pay for a nice lookout," Osowski said. "I mean, we're going to spend like $6.5 million down on the Greenway and now this just added on another half a million dollars."
The city is planning improvements to the Greenway between DeMers and Minnesota avenues following a successful grant application
through the National Park System's Outdoor Legacy Fund Program.
The nearly $3.5 million grant requires a one-to-one match and there are also additional costs for bidding and construction. Total construction costs for the Greenway improvements downtown are estimated at around $5.5 million.
In other news, the council:
* Won't have a meeting next week. The council will next meet on April 7 for its first regular meeting of April.
* Approved purchasing a shredding machine for the landfill for $641,450 to be paid over five years. The machine will allow the city to more easily handle demolition and construction debris. Not having to contract the service out means the city can save thousands of dollars a year alone on shredding tree branches, with the cost per ton being lowered from $39.25 to $3.29 per ton.
