NORTH MANKATO — Neighbors of the proposed Rockwell RV and Adventure Park, which would dramatically transform a pair of tapped-out quarries north of Mankato, are being invited to bring their curiosity, comments and questions to an open house Thursday.
At the event, the project’s owners will offer a presentation on the campground, wakeboarding park, aquatic play area and mountain biking trails planned for 90 acres of Lime Township.
The timing of the meeting is intended to give township residents a chance to get answers and offer opinions on the project before it goes to the Planning Commission and Township Board for regulatory approval later this summer and fall.
The open house is 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Pine Room of the South Central Service Cooperative, 2075 Lookout Drive, North Mankato. People can come any time during the two-hour window to converse with the project team, but folks will need to be there at 5 p.m. if they want to hear the formal presentation.
Although the meeting is open to the general public, it’s targeted at township residents. Display boards will highlight the plans for the former quarry land, which include a fee-based campground and aquatic recreation park along with a system of free public mountain-biking trails expected to attract riders from throughout the region, the Twin Cities and even nearby states.
The public meeting aims to address concerns and eliminate misconceptions, said Kyle Kaldor, project manager for the Rockwell development.
“There seems to be a lot of speculation and guessing about what it’s going to be,” he said.
That includes some misunderstanding about mountain biking from people who picture motorcycle dirt bikes rather than pedal-powered bicycles. The developers are also eager to alleviate concerns about water contamination.
The Rockwell plans include management of surface water so that it’s captured and directed to natural filtration systems rather than running off site or into the park’s recreational ponds, Kaldor said.
There will be no septic systems on the site. RV sites will have individual utility connections, with sewage and wastewater from each campsite and from public bathrooms piped to large collection tanks and trucked to Mankato’s wastewater plant for treatment. If rural properties between city limits and Rockwell are annexed into Mankato in the future, which would result in municipal utilities being extended farther to the north, a direct connection to city drinking water and sewer systems is expected.
Kaldor said there’s plenty of self-interest in running a clean campground and recreation park because the first water to be impacted by pollution would be the on-site ponds that are Rockwell’s featured attraction.
“If our water is dirty and contaminated, we’re not going to have any customers.”
The open house will give neighbors a chance to address all of those issues along with any concerns they might have about traffic, noise and other topics. By the end of the month, Rockwell’s written application for a township permit, officially termed an interim use permit, is expected to be submitted.
That will allow township staff to begin scrutinizing the plans to ensure they match the pledges being made by the developers. Next comes the Planning Commission review in late August. The township’s elected board will then receive the commission’s recommendation and could make a decision on the permit as soon as September.
The Department of Natural Resources also has regulatory authority over the proposed development, with a particular focus on preserving water quality not just within the property but on the nearby fen between the quarry land and the Minnesota River.