During
these troubling times dealing with the day-to-day changes that have been
evolving as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate the lives of most
people, there need to be plans in place for the future after the worst of the
coronavirus has run its course.
For
the Wright County Parks & Recreation Department, May 1 is the start of its
busy season. Not only does general park traffic increase, but it is the beginning
of the campground, public beaches and picnic shelter season. The popularity of
these programs in recent years has resulted in the campgrounds and shelters
being fully booked early in the reservation process. However, earlier Wednesday
(April 8), Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz extended the stay at home order for
Minnesotans to 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 3. As a result, Parks & Recreation
Director Marc Mattice announced Wednesday that campground and shelter
reservations will be cancelled for the period of May1-6 with a revised start of
May 7.
Mattice
spoke with the Wright County Board of Commissioners at its April 7 meeting about
an operations plan that would deal with four options – opening fully on May 7,
having a limited opening May 7, having a delayed opening to a unspecified date
and having the parks closed for the season.
Mattice
felt it was necessary to have the different plans in place because, at the end
of the day, it won’t be his decision to make when Wright County parks and
campgrounds will be allowed to operate at normal capacity.
“We
presented the county board with an operations plan for Parks & Recreation
that would deal with different scenarios related to campground, swimming
beaches and picnic shelters,” Mattice said. “Wright County Parks &
Recreation will be following the guidance of the Minnesota Department Health,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and any orders that are issued
by the governor of Minnesota.”
Mattice
made it clear that his staff won’t simply be waiting to be told when the
all-clear to go ahead with standard operations will come. They have already
begun the annual process of getting the parks prepped for the seasonal increase
of guests that come in the spring, summer and fall. As far as that goes, the
situation is proceeding as normal in hopes that the parks and campgrounds can
open in accordance with the revised date.
“As
of now, we are implementing our plan to delay opening our campgrounds, beaches
and picnic shelters until Thursday, May 7,” Mattice said. “But, we’re still
waiting to see if that is going to be allowed. As a precaution so our staff can
be prepared for whatever is going to happen when May 7 comes, we have developed
an operations plan that would consider if we have a limited opening, a delayed
opening or a seasonal closure of certain facilities. But, as we stand today,
our hope is that we are going to be able to open our campgrounds, beaches and
shelters on May 7.”
Mattice
added that each campsite has at least 2,000 square feet of living space, so
social distancing can be easily achieved under the protocol being used. But, as
with many other operations where people congregate in larger numbers, it isn’t
easy to predict what is going to happen because COVID-19 has been a fluid
situation that has seen plans change from one day to the next.
“As
things stand today, we’re in the process of preparing our parks, campsites,
beaches and shelters as if we’re going to open on schedule May 7,” Mattice
said. “We’re just waiting on any additional direction to come from the
governor, the Minnesota Department of Health and Wright County Public Health.
We are still more than three weeks away from that and hopefully as we get
closer to that date, we’ll have a clearer idea of what that guidance is going
to be. But, until we are told differently, we’re going to proceed with the
preparation to open May 7. If it turns out that we have a limited or further delayed
opening, we will be prepared to have everything ready when we get the approval
to open.”
Mattice
stressed that the multiple-scenario operation plans could be confusing to some
because it may lend some to believe that the limited, delayed or full closure options
are all that are available. As of now, the only firm decision that has been
made has been to contact those with campground and shelter reservations from
May 1-6 and offer refunds or the opportunity to reschedule for a later
available date.
He
is still planning to keep the parks opening in keeping with the revised
schedule as he has done in previous years. But, he understands the frustration
of people wanting answers to questions that he can’t provide because the
high-level decisions that will be made whether or not open Wright County parks
will likely be dictated by forces beyond his control.
“People
want to know,” Mattice said. “Our parks are extremely popular and we have many
of the same families that rent campsites year after year. It’s a tradition for
them and we understand that. Not knowing is a problem, but what we can do on
our end is assure people that we will be ready to open when we’re allowed to –
whether that is to open fully May 7 or on a limited basis May 7 or a date later
than that. We’re hoping everything will come off as planned. If it does, we
will be ready to serve our park patrons. But, as we sit here today, not knowing
is the issue.”