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CHAPTER 4 <br />INVENTORY OF ANOKA COUNTY PARKS <br /> <br />CURRENT CLASSIFICATION <br /> ~;YSTEMS <br /> <br />The Anoka County Parks and Recreation Department <br />utilizes the Metropo'litan Council's Recreation and <br />Open Space Developqaent standards to classify regional <br />parks, regional trails ~and regional park reserves. The <br />Regional System provides standards and identifies <br />characteristics of regional parks and trails that <br />distinguish these uni,ts as having a user base which <br />extends to surrounding counties. This classification <br />system is used for 9 o~:the 23 units in the Anoka County <br />Parks System. The [remaining 14 units do not have <br />established classification standards. Because of this no <br />distinguishing characteristics of these units can be <br />identified. The Anoka County Parks and Recreation <br /> has unofOcially classified the remaining 14 <br />Department <br />units as either count3~ parks or county forests. As a <br />result, there is a n~ed to establish and adopt a <br />classification systerh with standards that will <br />incorporate distinguishing characteristics of parks, trails <br />and special recreation!features that have not previously <br />been identified in the!Metropolitan Council's system. <br /> ,. <br /> INVENTORY OF ANOKA <br /> COtINTY PARKS <br /> <br />For each park in the system an inventory has been <br />conducted. The inventory established the type and <br />amount of development in each park. To illustrated the <br />development within the parks, detailed maps were made <br />from geographic information systems computer <br />software. Viewed side by side, the map and data sheet <br />give a complete look at the development within the <br />Parks System. <br /> <br />CONDITION OF FACILITIES <br /> <br />Within the Anoka Co, unty Parks System there are 23 <br />park units and over 8,000 acres of park land. The parks <br />are located throughgut the entire county and are <br />commonly situated adjacent to water resources such as; <br />lakes, rivers and wetlands. The parks vary in size from <br />12 acres at Golden Like to 2,550 acres at Rice Creek <br />Chain of Lakes Park Reserve. Facility and amenity <br />development varies fr6m park to park. Some parks are <br />extensively develope[d while others are completely <br />undeveloped. <br /> <br />Some commonly found facilities in the Park System <br />include picnic pavili6ns, walking and biking trails, <br />swimming beaches, and creative play facilities. Unique <br />developments includ¢} the Bunker Hills Wave Pool, <br />Chomonix Golf Cou~rse, Wargo Nature Center, Coon <br />Rapids Dam Visitors Center, Banfill-Locke Center for <br />the Arts, and the histdric Reidell Mansion. <br /> <br />This new meeting facility at Ham Lake Coun~ Park illustrates the <br />emphasis on resource sensitive placement, accessibilib,, flexibility in <br />use, and architectural style in new park structures. <br /> <br />The overall condition of many of the park facilities is <br />poor. Because several of the parks were..develop~d <br />over 20 years ago, the int~'astructure of the park system <br />is aging. Also contributing to the deterioration of <br />facilities was the lack of adequate rehabilitation over <br />those years. The average age of restroom facilities, <br />picnic pavilions and creative play facilities in the <br />system is 17 years. Trails, roadways, parking lots and <br />boardwalks were more recent developments in the <br />Parks System, but the lack of preventative maintenance <br />to these amenities has shortened their life-expectancy. <br />Accessibility, aesthetics, function and cleanliness are <br />all significant issues identified in facilities within the <br />Parks System. Creative play structures, picnic <br />pavilions, restrooms, trails, and camping facilities will <br /> <br />Page I <br /> <br /> <br />