DEVILS LAKE — Progress has continued with Devils Lake’s new Speed and Acceleration program.
It was one of several topics discussed at Monday’s monthly Devils Lake Park Board meeting at Dockside Entertainment.
Superintendent Steve Geigle said the current workers have been doing a “really good job.” They’ve also gotten help from Elliott Belquist, who originally started this program back in New Rockford. Commissioner Mark Beighley noted, though, that Belquist will likely be getting busier soon with football practice around the corner. Belquist is the head coach of back-to-back nine-man state champion New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock.
Commissioner Kelli Heilman made two suggestions of who could help out at the facility: recent Devils Lake graduates Bryar Exner and Kade Fee. Both of them were key parts of the state champion football team and starters on the basketball team. Heilman had recommended Exner earlier, and his parents were reportedly “super excited” about the opportunity. It’s also a natural fit for Exner since it segues into what he’ll be studying in college, physical therapy. Fee was more of an off-the-cuff recent suggestion, but the board — including Beighley, who calls Devils Lake games — was in agreement that Fee would be a great fit.
Geigle said the focus is on “making sure we have qualified individuals in there.”
Geigle also said earlier in the meeting that on July 27, a sound system will be going in, utilizing a forklift to install it.
He also briefly brought up the cameras that will be added to the facility. It had been approved in the previous meeting. Geigle mentioned that the price is going down. He also said he ordered VertiMax, an advanced piece of training equipment to help athletes.
While they work out the kinks, find staff and make additions, the transition of this program to Devils Lake has been a success. Given the prominence of athletics in Devils Lake, it no longer requires students to go down to New Rockford to partake in these facilities, while also creating a shorter drive for those from Cando, Langdon, etc.
Monday’s meeting was run by Kale Stromme, who was officially nominated as board president after a motion by Beighley carried. Heilman was nominated as vice president.
Other than that, the meeting consisted of plentiful updates regarding day-to-day issues and bugs. At Burdick Arena, locker room A recently had its lockers ripped out and a new floor is almost done being added. Parks & Facilities manager Brent Schmitz also addressed a bathroom issue raised in a Facebook post; there had been an enormous group in Roosevelt Park who didn’t reserve it ahead of time. Geigle clarified that the protocol going forward should be to have large groups like that let them know at least 90 days in advance.
Recreation/concessions manager Josh Widmer said NDTC recently came out to check on a payment issue. They added an extender to get Wi-Fi from the pool and set up a secured Wi-Fi network to get payments set up. Widmer should also have numbers for fish camp soon, with applications due by the end of the week.
At Dockside, a bowling lane and bouncy house recently underwent repairs. At Bill Jerome Arena,
The board also discussed replacing a fairway mower for the golf course. Golf course grounds superintendent Andy Hokanson said it probably needs to be replaced in the next five years, acknowledging that the price is high and they probably won’t be able to get brand new ones. They would need a new motor, which he expects to cost around $6,500 without shipping. Beighley, who utilizes the golf course regularly, agreed that this should be a priority. Beighley made a motion to approve the board buying a new motor, with a price limit of $7,500, and the motion carried.
The basement recently flooded with two feet of water due to pump problems, and Geigle talked about setting up an alarm system similar to what they have at the Burdick.
Geigle also talked about activity fees, particularly for the pool, which he realized Devils Lake is behind other towns on. They discussed putting a limit on family passes and raising the price of $3 for three hours of swimming. The board tabled the rest of this discussion until the next meeting, which is set to take place August 13, when they will also do some strategic planning.