Rib Falls park plan will move forward

County hopes to hire consulting firm by this summer

A major county park in the town of Rib Falls could be under construction sometime in 2022, Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department director Jamie Polley said on Monday. The director said gravel extraction from a large pit in the township adjacent to the Big Rib River has ceased and, with $450,000 set aside from mining royalties, the county plans to move forward with a park which will feature a man-made lake.

A vision for the park harkens back to 1982, 39 years ago. This is when Marathon County purchased a 314-acre parcel from the Wisconsin Valley Improvement Corporation for $225,000, initially for gravel to be used on county highways, but, in time, as recorded in a county board resolution, for a “scenic whitewater area deemed desirable for stewardship and eventual use as a natural history area for future generations of county citizens.”

Polley said she expects the county will advertise for a park development consultanting firm in April, hire a firm in June, conduct extensive public hearings over the summer on how the park should be developed, finalize the design next winter and bid out park construction sometime next year in February or March.

“This is very exciting,” Polley said. “ We are looking at something unique, a great opportunity.”

Polley said early thoughts are that the Rib Falls park would offer swimming with a beach, kayaking and, possibly boating. Picnic areas will be developed, she said, and, possibly, campgrounds. These camp sites, the director, said, could be equipped with water and electricity for recreational vehicles.

Polley said a final design will depend on how costly it will be to bulldoze mining overburden back around the lake, plant trees and then develop the campsites. It will also depend, she said, on public comments, including input from the town of Rib Falls government and residents.

Polley said a campsite could prove successful. With the COVID-19 pandemic, county campgrounds at Marathon Park, the Big Eau Pleine Reservoir and Dells of Eau Claire were pretty much full last season.

“We had a very, very successful year,” she said.

Polley said she believes interest in camping will outlast the pandemic and, if developing campsites is affordable, could be a Rib Falls park feature. Additionally, she added, campground fees are a major source of county department revenue.

The director said the county has mining royalties as a base budget for the park, but donations and a county allocation through its Capital Improvement Program could enhance the project.

Town of Rib Falls chairman Bill Wunch said the park project represents “a great opportunity for the town and the county” and the town will provide plenty of input on the project.

“We are going to be an active participant,” he said. “We will go into this with an open mind.”

Wunsch said he expects the town will hold numerous sessions where citizens will be able to help shape the park design.

“It could be a very, very nice park,” he said. “We are excited about this. It will be a great resource for the town and people of the town.”