Citizens to suggest county park names

WILLMAR - Diamond Lake County Park. Games Lake County Park. Saulsbury Beach County Park.
A list of straightforward names was rolled out Tuesday in a quest by the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners to come up with new names for the county’s seven parks.
But before anything is finalized, the public will get a chance to weigh in too.
County residents have until Oct. 16 to submit their own ideas and suggestions. The commissioners want to have the new park names chosen in time for the opening of reservations in January for the 2016 camping season.
The Kandiyohi County parks have historically been designated by numbers - Park No. 1, Park No. 2, etc. - rather than names.
Last month the county commissioners decided to end this tradition and give each park a name, saying the numbering system was confusing for the public.
Judging from the feedback they have heard since then, there’s strong support for the name change, said Larry Kleindl, county administrator.
“We have received a lot of phone calls and positive comments about this,” he said.
The general message of nearly all the comments has been “it’s about time,” said Kleindl, adding, “I think changing the name is the right thing to do.”
A preliminary list of names presented Tuesday to the County Board stuck to simple geography, giving each park a name matching the lake or swimming beach on which it’s located.
Kleindl said these were “just a proposal,” however.
“You can go any route you want but we have to start somewhere,” he said.
Betsy Bjur of Lake Lillian made a plea for historic considerations.
Her great-grandmother, Betsy Anderson, raised a family on the farmstead that later became part of Park No. 2 on Big Kandiyohi Lake, Bjur said. An aunt also lived there, and their descendants and extended families have warm memories of what they’ve always referred to as Anderson Park, she said.
“There’s some history,” Bjur said.
The family would like some say in the renaming process, she said. “I thought about calling it Anderson Park, but I haven’t had a chance to talk to family.”
The commissioners had some reactions of their own to the preliminary list of names.
Keep it relatively short, advised Rollie Nissen, pointing to “Big Kandiyohi Lake County Park West,” currently known as Park No. 1.
“It gets to be quite a mouthful,” he said.
Whatever names are selected, they should be easy to recognize and shouldn’t stray too far from each park’s current identity, Roger Imdieke said.
County residents who want to offer their input on the naming process have until 4:30 p.m. Oct. 16 to do so. Comments may be made by phone at 320-231-6215, emailed to Larry_K@co ,kandiyohi.mn.us, or mailed to County Administrator, 2200 23rd St. N.E., Suite 2020, Willmar, MN 56201.
Suggestions also can be submitted on the county’s website at http://bit.ly/1OjlyBd .