Mississippi Overlook Park access could improve with grant application

BAXTER — Greater access to Mississippi Overlook Park is where Baxter City Council members voted to start as they approved applying for federal grants.

The park’s 60 acres and the 820 acres next to it are city-owned property in southwest Baxter. It is open to the public but getting to the park overlooking the river and its shoreline facilities means walking a half-mile or a mile distance after parking on a dead-end residential street.

The council was presented with an opportunity to apply in a partnership with Sylvan Township for $10 million in federal grants to assist with the development of the trail, which could be part of the Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail, with statewide implications for connections to other trail systems. For the City Council, the decision came with the understanding there would be staff time needed as Baxter would serve as the fiscal agent and city costs associated with the project.

Ultimately, the council decided to go with a smaller option to start, identified as Option A with additional land acquisition, which would add greater access to Mississippi Overlook Park with a road, parking area, extending a dry pipe for future water and sewer, and a paved trail that connects to the Paris Road and Jasperwood intersection to link with the Paul Bunyan State Trail. The grant application is for the Baxter/Sylvan Township Community Trail Grant Project, which consists of the capital improvements in Baxter and capital improvements proposed by Sylvan Township.

The council heard

presentations and talked about options through several previous meetings

and in previous long-term planning discussions for the 60-acre park and 820 acres of public land next to it.

Baxter’s land use plan identifies south Baxter as a potential corridor for a future east/west trail, and new federal money is available to build trails and recreational facilities that gain from Camp Ripley’s Sentinel Landscape designation. A trail system, with Sylvan Township and Baxter each taking parts to connect it, is expected to have a price tag of about $10 million. That trail system could also take on a larger role as the Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail gains traction.

What was different at the Tuesday, Feb. 20, City Council meeting was public feedback as property owners who live by the parkland said they only recently heard about the grant application option, money for the access road and trail, along with the potential need to buy property for it. The engineer’s estimate for total funding of eligible costs for the project was listed at $3,383,384 in 2024 with total city costs estimated to be $507,507. Those costs were similar if slightly higher for the funding year 2025.

Property owners said they should have been notified and found out about the meeting through a neighbor. Trevor Walter, public works director and city engineer, said if the council voted for the application, which may or may not be awarded to the city, the plan was to notify property owners. Walter also said the plan for southwest Baxter land was the subject of previous public meetings.

Dain Barrett said the whole area was once all Barrett land and now they have the last piece on the other side of where the access to Mississippi Overlook Park is proposed. Barrett told the council they have people on their property who don’t know where the public land ends and private begins, even though the land is posted as private. He said something needs to be done with more law enforcement in the area, noting people are trespassing routinely and using the land the wrong way. He pointed to potential conflicts with people on the trail and firearms hunting in the same area.

John Ring said his interest was Red River Drive, which continues to have safety concerns and should be a priority in funding. That area was part of the overall project but not included in the first phase of funding.

Dean Renneke proposed alternate routes, such as using Oakwood, for the access he said the city had not considered following the power line and using an existing easement and using Oakdale. The city noted a study that determined the best way to bring the public to the park was to use Jasperwood instead of using a residential neighborhood.

What they all agreed upon was their description of the public property as a phenomenal and beautiful area.

The city noted the grant application is a concept with a cost estimate and an application deadline of April 1. Mayor Darrel Olson said they looked at the grant opportunity and may not receive it but there is still time to talk about fine-tuning. He thanked the residents for being there. Council member Jeff Phillips said the residents brought up good points and he suggested they sit down with the police department and talk about the issues specific to this area.

The 880-acre area includes 50-foot-high rolling hills of high quality natural land that features high biodiversity forests and wetlands, 1 mile of frontage along Pike Creek, and ownership entirely surrounding Island Lake. The city of Baxter received the land through a combination of a land donation and various acquisitions through grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program and the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund, among others.

The city has

studied the park and used consultants to develop a master plan

for the land with the idea of silent sports, educational opportunities, camping, greater park accessibility and potential soccer fields. Another part of the master plans was a future Camp Ripley Veterans State Trail, which is a legislatively authorized state trail.

The Veterans Trail’s master plan envisions a multi-use trail system, which can mean motorized and non-motorized in different areas, that would link the Soo Line Trail south of Little Falls to Crow Wing State Park and the Paul Bunyan State Trail. The Veterans trail would link the Central Lakes, Lake Wobegon, Soo Line, Paul Bunyan, Heartland and Mi-Gi-Zi trails into one continuous recreational route, as stated in the

executive summary of the trail alignment and development

.

Renee Richardson, managing editor, may be reached at 218-855-5852 or renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com. Follow on Twitter at @DispatchBizBuzz.