Lakeside: Popular lakefront park could be expanded
Just three years after dedicating the popular Volunteer Park on the shore of Flathead Lake in Lakeside, Flathead County has an opportunity to expand the park with financial help from the same philanthropic couple who created it.
A parcel just north of Volunteer Park containing 83 feet of lakefront is being put up for sale by the Cash family and has been appraised by the county at $560,000, county Parks and Recreation Director Jed Fisher told the county commissioners on Thursday.
Bruce Ennis and his wife, Margaret Davis, who donated the $3 million Volunteer Park to the county in 2010, have offered to put $500,000 toward the acquisition of the additional property, Fisher said.
That leaves the county responsible for $60,000 if the offer at appraised value is accepted by the owner. The county would tap its cash-in-lieu-of-parkland fund for its portion of the purchase price. That fund builds up from subdividers who request and are approved to provide cash rather than develop parkland within their subdivision.
Fisher envisions creating a campground host pad that would accommodate an attendant to oversee the busy park during the summer, similar to state parks.
“Flathead County would be responsible for building the park out, extending the fence, irrigation system, the host pad and other minor expenses,” Fisher said, but he didn’t have an exact cost yet for the build-out.
“It’s a shaded area. It’s really quite beautiful,” he added.
An existing home on the parcel is old and probably couldn’t be moved, but Ennis is willing to check into the details of removing the house, Fisher said.
Commissioners Gary Krueger and Pam Holmquist agreed to have the county make an offer on the property; commissioner Cal Scott was absent from Thursday’s commissioner proceedings.
The 1.5-acre Volunteer Park is at the end of Adams Street and includes the area where the Bayshore Motel once was located.
It currently offers 190 feet of unobstructed Flathead Lake shoreline, plus a wide range of park features that include wheelchair accessibility on one of the docks. Three pavilions, restrooms, picnic tables and ample parking have made it a hot spot for both locals and summer visitors to the area.
Ennis and Davis signed an agreement with the county that allowed them to develop the day-use facility and then transfer ownership to the county. When it opened Aug. 13, 2010, Fisher praised the Lakeside couple’s efforts, calling it the county’s “flagship” park.
Ennis grew up in Kalispell and spent a lot of time on Flathead Lake. When he returned to the area about nine years ago, he and Davis were struck by the limited options for lake access.
When it came time to name the lakefront park, Ennis and Davis wanted to highlight the spirit of volunteerism that has been a part of the resort community since day one. From the community library and food bank to the quick-response unit, community club and other nonprofit endeavors, Lakeside folks have always helped one another out, Davis told the Inter Lake at the time,
“The name, Volunteer Park, really is more in reference to how things happen in Lakeside,” she said. “It’s the bigger picture of what makes Lakeside tick.”
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.