By Mari Radtke
The once calm and quiet O’Brien County Conservation Board regular meeting once again filled the conference room at Prairie Heritage Center. This time the majority of those present attended to address proposed changes to camping fees and regulations.
Campers addressed campground needs. Sheryl Tressler started the conversation and focused on the needs at Douma. Three others joined in with comments about the needs at Douma. Among the improvements pointed out for aesthetics, cleanliness and convenience were: loads of dirt and gravel/rock needs to be brought in and smoothed. Rock needs to be used to raise fire pits and amenities to get it out of the water. So does grass seed. Mud created a safety risk. Tressler recommended more speed limit signs and opening the “old out house.” The swimming area needs cleaning and lighting at the “great addition” of the playgound area noted Tressler. Tressler said she loves camping. She explained how the long term campers helped Kim, the camp host when staff was low, saying, “We all treated the campgrounds like it was our own homes.”
Other suggestions included an extended camping season, low cost primitive camping and tent camping sites.
Kim Miller spoke. Kim served as the campground host at Douma for 2 years and is hoping to do so again. She expressed how much she loves doing the work, but did have some improvement suggestions focusing on safety. One bigger concern was the slick floor in the showers. She also recommended a prohibition/signage against fires on the pier. She expressed concern for the camping spots that are all uneven and muddy. Scott affirmed that a number of the items addressed early are “on his list.”
Expect improvements at Douma Park this year.
Director Travis Scott explained that it is his wish to set 1 nightly fee for the cabins. Currently weeknight rates are different from weekend rates and he would like to eliminate the difference. He asked for the one rate to include a 7-day reservation for the cost of 6 days. He also wants each day to be at the weekend rate. He then said the only rate he wanted to see changed was the monthly rate. He suggested going from $360 to $390 or $400 per month. Guests for under a month would pay the nightly fee for any accommodation.
Jack Wallinga said, “$390 sounds a whole lot better than $400,” getting a chuckle from the crowd. Board member Dan Verrips motioned to leave the rates the same for this year and consider changes for next year. Greg Burmakow seconded. Wallinga noted that because of the first come first served method, the seasonal rate may be difficult to administer. The board expressed a consensus that after going online would make the changes more manageable.
Kathy Luedke noted that costs are going up. The board decided to table the proposal and revisit it in the fall right after camping season ends. That was agreed to.
Scott wants to add tent sites at Dog Creek and Douma Creek. He has identified some unused brushy spots that could be cleaned up and used for tent camping. He says they are seeing a lot more tent camping than they have for a long time. The additional tent camping sites was approved.
Extension of camping season to October 31 was brought up. Water would be shut off when temperatures required it, but campers wanting to be there without water could. Scott also recommended an earlier opening date as long as the snow is melted. April 15 was suggested. It could again be without water. The extended dates passed.
A restriction for RV campers proposed in January by Director Scott was to adopt a rule about carpet outside of campers. Scott is concerned with dead grass and mowing around carpets and camping mats set outside campers for more than 5 days. That suggestion met with a lot of push back. Several camp regulars explained the rugs kept their campers clean. They insist that a carpet set down for 5 days and then rolled up would still have dead grass. They then challenged the same rule be imposed on tent campers. It was suggested that tents would have the same impact on the grass as a camping mat.
Scott explained he was looking for a way to eliminate the perfect square of dead grass next to the camping pads at the end of the season. A variety of solutions were proposed: gravel, concrete, crushed concrete or not allowed were all discussed. The board voted to leave the rule of camping maps alone for this year while looking for a solution.