Quarry Springs masterplan approved

COLFAX — Quarry Springs Park planners got an official vote of approval Nov. 14 from the Colfax City Council, as the town’s elected leaders approved the final masterplan for the 480-acre park on Highway 117 near Interstate 80.

The council voted 4-0 to approve the 10 to 15-year project which includes plans for a cable park/lazy river, 160 RV camping sites, increased primitive camping, cabins and 25 acres of retail development, as well as public, active and passive lakes.

The plan has been in development for nearly two years under the leadership of volunteers from the Colfax Park and Recreation Auxiliary Board. The ideas and goals of board members were compiled and developed into a masterplan by Des Moines-based landscape architectural firm Confluence, and a subcontractor has completed a detailed cost analysis to direct fundraising, revenue needs and create feasible phases of the plan’s implementation.

Public meetings in December 2015 and June of this year showed early versions of the plan to the Colfax community and took input from the public to create the final proposal.

Jim Host of Confluence presented the plan to the city council Nov. 14. He said any retail development would be designed to compliment shopping already in downtown Colfax. Parks auxiliary board volunteer Kim Seebeck told the council the land designated for retail development would either be leased or sold to third-party developers with highly defined stipulations on land use.

“(The resort) is more of a pampered kind of feeling for people,” Host said. “You don’t have to drive down to the Lake of the Ozarks to get a feeling where you’re sitting on the beach and having drinks brought to you — a higher level of service hotel, 20 minutes from Des Moines for the people who want that get-away weekend.”

Some of the park’s plans — such as the adventure sports area, shooting range, river access and increased parking/park access — are contingent on cooperation from adjacent property owners. Park auxiliary volunteers have been in contact with the Schlosser (land) Board of Trustees, the Colfax-Mingo Education Foundation and the Colfax Historical Society/Museum Board to negotiate use of portions of their land.

Full plans for the park are available at www.colfaxnorthpark.com.

The city council’s adoption comes on the heels of the parks auxiliary board’s own vote of support for the masterplan. Seebeck said the council’s approval is important to attract interest from vendors and investors.

“The adoption of the plan by the city is really critical,” Seebeck said. “It tells people we’re serious, it tells people the city is behind us. It helps us have conversations with donors and developers because our next steps are likely significant fundraising and filling out grants.”

Council member Kara Jones took time after the vote to thank all Quarry Springs volunteers who have clocked more than 10,000 man hours cleaning up the former 480-acre gravel pit which was donated to Colfax — along with $200,000 for reclamation costs — by Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. in 2014.

“You guys are to be commended. I’m appreciative, as is the city, for all the work that you’ve done, the class with which you’ve done the work, the research and of professionals to assist development,” Jones said.

The council also approved the plans to turn a building on the Quarry Springs peninsula into an indoor archery range.

The 4-0 approval is contingent on the OK from the city’s attorney and insurance agent to resolve any liability issues. Parks auxiliary board president Doug Garrett said the nonprofit group would also take out its own insurance policy on the range to ensure all public entities would be covered.

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@jaspercountytribune.com