STURGIS, S.D. – The future of a proposed water park in Sturgis looks a lot different following a decision by the city council last week.
The proposed water park has been discussed for years, part of an idea brought forward by a committee set up to come up with a plan. The city even purchased property off Vanocker Canyon Road with hopes of building the Sturgis Lakeside Adventure park.
The council during their regular meeting last week split the Richards Property into two lots, something City Communication Director Deb Holland says has been planned all along. She says it’s part of the process of adding future commercial and retail development to the property. She says the two parcels are 20.6 acres and the other 48.5 acres. The smaller parcel will be retained by the city and the second possibly sold to a developer. The city has stated they are still contemplating its next steps forward to provide the citizens of Sturgis with some sort of outdoor aquatics venue, although the cost of the project has always been a factor in determining what type of aquatics park the city could build.
However, the city has been working with Vanocker Development on the property, where Megan Kingsbury says the action puts a wrench in their plans for the water park.
Whether Vanocker Development will develop the park or not is still to be seen. The City of Sturgis will decide if it will sell one of the two new lots in the coming weeks.
KBHB News has reached out to Allison Creed of the Sturgis Lakeside Adventure Park group for her comments on the council’s recent decision. We will provide her comments to this story once we receive them.
