Item 5B. Draft 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program

Superintendent's Recommendation:

NO ACTION REQUIRED; THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION.

Background:

The Draft 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program, or CIP, (attached) is being submitted to the Board for review and discussion. This initial step provides an opportunity for the Board to provide guidance on investment and funding strategies.

The Draft CIP reflects the Board’s desire to minimize bonding, to maximize use of outside funds for non-discretionary projects, and to invest in discretionary projects that will enhance public use of the parks.

How this CIP is organized

There are four primary categories of capital investments, along with administrative costs:

Stewardship: Projects that maintain what we have.

Commitments: Projects that involve agreements with other parties.

Discretionary: Projects that provide benefits, but which can be deferred.

Enterprise: Projects specific to Hyland Ski Area and Baker National Golf.

Administrative: Funding of Dept. of Design positions through the CIP.

Highlights of the 2026-2030 CIP

Unless otherwise noted, projects in the years 2026 through 2029 are the same as what was shown in last year’s approved 2025-2029 CIP. Cost estimates are updated annually for future projects using data from the past year and may have resulted in slightly increased or decreased costs as compared to last year’s estimates. All projects that start in 2030 are proposed new projects.

Notable changes since last year’s CIP:

Infrastructure Management Program:

(NEW – 2026): Project 1.07: Seton Bridge Study ($50,000). This is a partner project with the Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority to look at ways to improve the bridge and bridge underpass.

(NEW – 2026): Project 1.08: Trail crossing safety studies and improvements ($50,000). This project begins implementation of trail crossing safety improvements identified in 2025.

(CHANGE - 2028/29): Project 2.23: Lake Minnetonka Reconstruction of Phase 2 roads, parking lots and trails. This project was moved from 2026/27 to 2028/29 to allow sufficient time to update the park’s Long-Range Plan; to free up staff time to work on the Katrina Loop at Baker; and to help move towards a balanced budget.

(CHANGE - 2026/27): Project 2.24: Katrina Loop Trail Reconstruction at Baker PR. This project was moved forward from 2027/28 to 2026/27 as the trail is at the end of its useful life.

Preservation and Rehabilitation Program:

(NEW - 2026): Project 42: Gale Woods irrigation and livestock well improvements ($65,000). This project will improve farm efficiency and help conserve water.

Sustainability Program:

(ADDITION – 2029): Project 72: Solar Roof Installation ($500,000). This project is on-going and adds another solar roof in a location to be determined in year 2029.

(NEW – 2026): Project 74: Sustainability Plan update ($60,000). The Sustainability Plan was last updated in 2016. The updated plan will provide a framework for future sustainability actions and investments. Project 75 compliments project 74 and consolidates previously identified small projects to use as seed money for the updated plan actions.

Americans with Disabilities Act Projects:

(NEW – Ongoing): Project 77: Accessibility Site Improvements (Cost TBD). Staff are in the process of updating the ADA Plan to move towards a more initiative-taking ADA site improvement program, going beyond simply meeting code and focusing on enhancing visitor experiences. The adjacent Project 78 represents the first year of this project, with lakeside enhancements at Bryant, Fish, Cleary and Silverwood.

Commitment Projects:

(NEW 2026): Project C14: Rush Creek RT – Developer Project Reimbursement for construction of a trail segment from Territorial Road to French Lake Rd ($115,000). There are economic and efficiency benefits to having regional trail development occur in conjunction with housing development. This project reimburses the developer for their cost incurred for development of 0.25 miles of regional trail.

(NEW 2026): Project C15: Eagle Lake RT: The Woods of Medicine Lake Townhouse Buffer Agreement ($15,000). This provides reimbursement to the townhouse association to place screening between the regional trail and townhomes following regional trail construction similar to other regional trail projects where regional trails were near a residential structure.

(New 2026/27) Project C16: West Mississippi River RT: Preliminary Design of trail segment from 109th to Douglas Dr in Champlin ($1,000,000). The project focuses on trail and intersection design components for the segment of trail within Champlin and is needed to better qualify for future federal funding. The project is tied to obtaining full funding from Hennepin County grants.

(New 2027): Project C17: Rush Creek RT: City of Dayton Project Reimbursement: Dayton Parkway Neighborhood RT segment ($200,000). The City will develop the RT in conjunction with housing development.

(NEW 2027: Project C18: Medicine Lake RT: City of Plymouth Project Reimbursement: Reconstruction of the RT from French RP north to Schmidt Lake Road ($450,000). The total project cost is estimated at $900,000. Staff are working to include the County as a partner and the Park District share may go down.

(NEW 2027): Project C19: Rush Creek RT: City of Maple Grove Project Reimbursement: Trail development on the Old Troy ROW extension ($400,000). The City of Maple Grove will construct about 0.35 miles of regional trail as part of future residential development, building off of recently developed trail construction immediately to the south. This will provide reimbursement to the City for design and construction costs.

(NEW 2027/28): Project C20: West Mississippi River RT: Hennepin County Project Cost-share Reimbursement for the Colburn to S Diamond Lake Rd Trail Segment ($935,000). The County will be doing complete road reconstruction of the West Mississippi River Road/Dayton River Road in this segment. The project will include construction of 1.2 miles of the West Mississippi River Regional Trail. This is the current anticipated cost share amount for the design and construction work.

(NEW 2028): Project C21: Lake Independence RT: Preliminary Design for trail segment from Baker Maintenance Rod south to the Luce Line State Trail ($500,000). This project will begin design on reconstruction and Hwy 12 bridge crossing improvements on the Luce Line Trail to better position the larger project for future Federal grants.

(NEW 2028): Project C22: Eagle Lake RT: City of Plymouth Project Reimbursement: Eagle Lake RT reconstruction from 36th Ave N to Rockford Rd. (Amount TBD). The City had tentatively scheduled road reconstruction of Zachery Lane for 2028 but may move it to 2026. As part of that project the existing trail parallel to the road would be reconstructed and turned over to Three Rivers as a new segment of the Eagle Lake RT. The status of this project will be updated in the next draft of this CIP.

(NEW 2028): Project C23: Rush Creek Regional Trail: Regional Trail Design and Development in Maple Grove and Dayton (Amount TBD). This is a placeholder for an expected trail development opportunity tied to City and developer projects in the NW corner of Maple Grove and adjacent SW corner of Dayton.

Discretionary Projects:

There are a total of 20 Discretionary projects in this CIP. Ten of those projects were identified in last year’s CIP. The ten new projects are:

(NEW 2026): Project D2: Design & Construct: NRM Shop & Storage Improvements ($105,000). This project adds a mezzanine storage area in the NRM shop and adds auxiliary seasonal heating.

(NEW 2026): Project D3: Baker Campground Nature Exploration Area ($65,000). This project adds a nature exploration area play feature in the campground so that kids can explore nature while staying in the campground.

(NEW 2026): Project D4: District-wide: Gravel road and parking lot inventory and assessment study (No cost). This project will identify all remaining gravel roads and parking lots within the district and will recommend future actions regarding their upkeep or conversion to paved surfaces. The project is internal and is in the CIP as a placeholder for work assignment purposes.

(NEW 2027): Project D5: West Mississippi River RT: Mississippi River Water Trail Access in Dayton ($650,000). This project will construct a water access site on Three Rivers land adjacent to Goodin Park in Dayton. The project will complement planned City water access sites upstream and downstream. The project is contingent on a $500,000 grant from the LCCMR.

(NEW 2027/28) Project D6: Hyland Creative Play Area timber retaining wall replacement ($1,100,000). This project reconstructs the retaining wall system within the Creative Play Area, including removal and reinstallation of existing play area features as needed.

(NEW 2028): Project D11: District-wide: Design study for Nature Center Renovations ($100,000). This project will focus on determining what renovations are needed in the old portion of Richardson NC and for Lowry NC.

(NEW 2028/29): Project D14: Crow-Hassan PR: Design and construct an unpaved trailhead parking lot in the northern area of the park ($125,000). This project is part of the recommended improvements in the Crow-Hassan Long-range Plan and will serve the users of the proposed walking trail loop (Project D13).

(NEW 2029/2030): Project D15: French RP: Visitor Center remodel ($675,000). This project is part of the recommended improvements in the French Long-range Plan and will address functional space issues in the public areas of the visitor center.

(NEW 2029/2030): Project D16: French RP: Shared-use Picnic Shelters ($360,000). This project is part of the recommended improvements in the French Long-range Plan and will provide non-reservable picnic shelters within the picnic area along Medicine Lake.

(NEW 2030): Project D19: Baker Campground: Design and Construct Camper Cabins ($500,000). This project is part of the recommended improvements in the Baker Long-range Plan and will provide up to five additional camper cabins in the campground.

Expenses Summary

Expenditures in the Draft CIP total $143.9 million, broken out as follows:

Funding Summary

The Draft CIP was created before the State Legislature has acted on a Bonding bill or the 2026/2027 Legacy bill. The Draft CIP assumes no 2025 state bond funding for the regional parks system or for Three Rivers’ regional trails bonding request. The CIP does assume that Legacy funding for 2026 and 2027 will be approved at the amounts estimated by the Minnesota office of Management and Budget (MMB), and by the Metropolitan Council.

Funding shortfall

Using the target of $8.5 million in Three Rivers bonds each year, the Draft CIP shows a shortfall of funding in years 2027 through 2030:

For the years 2026 through 2029, over half of the current estimated shortfall is driven by significant reductions in MMB projections of annual Legacy funding, including a one-time reduction in 2026 to compensate for a previous statewide error in sales tax collection.

The other half of the shortfall for this time period is driven in part by increases in commitments (and opportunities) for regional trail development/redevelopment, increases in ADA project funding, increases in Sustainability funding, and the Hyland Creative Play Area retaining wall.

The 2030 shortfall is primary driven by the addition of the Elm Creek PR North Loop trail reconstruction project.

Addressing the shortfall:

The intent is to bring the next draft of the CIP to the Board in the fall of 2025, with the expenses and funding balanced across all five years. Action by the Legislature this year may help make that task easier to complete.

Staff will continue to seek additional outside funding, including additional funding from Hennepin County for trail projects, additional funding from the State for trail projects, additional funding from the LCCMR for eligible future projects, and through targeted fundraising campaigns.

If funding is still insufficient to meet expenses, staff will review proposed projects and may need to postpone discretionary projects, postpone commitment projects when or if feasible.

Relationship to the System Plan:

The Request for Action supports the following goal(s) of the System Plan:

Goal 1: You Belong Here

Goal 2: Parks Matter

Goal 3: Lead by Example

Attachments:

Draft 2026-2030 Capital Improvement Program 05 15 2025.pdf