WAYZATA — In a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, the Wayzata City Council approved a sweeping renovation of Klapprich Park, greenlighting nearly $2 million in improvements that will touch every corner of one of the city’s most beloved public spaces.
The plan includes new playground equipment, updated ADA-accessible sidewalks and hillside stairs, renovation of the warming house, and infrastructure upgrades throughout the park. Construction will begin this year, with substantial completion expected by late fall. The warming house is targeted to reopen by the 2025 skating season.
Council Member Alex Plechash voiced strong support during deliberations, calling Klapprich “maybe the crown jewel of Parks and Trails in Wayzata.”
“We deserve this,” Plechash added. “And I was really happy to see that we could actually bring in all of the alternatives because we can afford it.”
Mayor Andrew Mullin cast the lone dissenting vote, citing fiscal caution and the strain the project places on the city’s Parks and Trails Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
“I’m for parks,” Mullin said. “But I would not support this project unless there was a significant reduction in scope. We don’t have a sustainable funding source for future park needs, and we’ve already raised taxes significantly. In an uncertain economy, I think fiscal discipline is merited.”
Despite his concerns, the project passed with strong support from the rest of the council.
The approved contracts include:
- $730,971 to ODESA II for site improvements, including hillside stairs, Minnetonka Avenue sidewalk, and Bell Courts cabana enhancements.
- $516,700 to Ebert Companies for warming house renovations.
- $457,820 to Midwest Playscapes for playground equipment, including a hillside slide and rubberized safety surfacing.
The final budget for the project is $1.97 million—below the $2.687 million previously allocated in the Parks CIP. Staff also confirmed that roughly $140,000 in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds will be used for sidewalk and parking lot costs.
According to staff reports, all approved bids came in below original estimates. Council members credited the Parks and Trails Board for shaping a thoughtful and community-centered design.
“This is something special,” said Council Member Jeff Parkhill, reflecting on scenes of winter hockey games at Klapprich. “It’s nostalgic, it’s Minnesotan, and it’s time to enhance it for the next generation.”
Klapprich Park has its origins in the 1940s, when local volunteers began transforming a low-lying marshy area along Wayzata Boulevard into a usable community space. Through grassroots efforts, the site evolved into a gathering place for youth recreation, including one of the city’s earliest outdoor hockey rinks.
The park was later named in honor of Ed Klapprich, a community leader who played a key role in developing youth sports and helped establish hockey as a school-sponsored program in Wayzata. Over the decades, the site has grown into a central piece of the city’s parks system, blending neighborhood tradition with seasonal activity.
The park will remain closed during construction.
