Wadsworth Pond celebration is June 17; local groups partner to improve park
This afternoon, the community is celebrating Wadsworth Pond from 4-6 p.m. with yard games, hot dogs, disc golf and more.
The free community event is organized by the Wadsworth Pond Community Coalition, which includes the Sun River Watershed Group, with Great Falls Park and Recreation, Electric City Disc Golf Club, Bighorn Outdoor Specialists, North 40 and Scheels.
During a June 8 Park and Recreation Advisory Board meeting, Tracy Wendt of the Sun River Watershed Group presented an overview of their work in the park.
The group was established in 1994 and they work to protect and restore the resources of the Sun River watershed and its communities.
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She said she was new in town a few years ago when she visited Wadsworth Park and started asking who to work with on improvements.
Wendt said she started with Park and Rec and the effort evolved into the Wadsworth Pond Community Coalition, which now includes Bighorn Outdoor Specialists, Scheels, North 40, Missouri River Flyfishers Trout Unlimited Chapter, Electric City Disc Golf Club, Walleyes Unlimited of Great Falls, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, the West Great Falls Flood District and Howard and Shawna Strause.
The Strauses donated funds for two pavilions in the park. They no longer live in Great Falls but were involved in a bench project in the park years ago and wanted to stay involved, Wendt said.
At one point FWP advised it was dangerous getting into the water with shore erosion, so the SRWG worked with Park and Rec to gather funding for another dock, she said.
Trout Unlimited stocks the pond with rainbow trout for kids fishing day, which was June 6.
The pond is fed through intake from the Sun River and can’t fill unless the river is higher than the pond, so water levels have been low in recent years, she said.
They worked with the flood and irrigation districts this year to get the pond full for the first time in about three years, Wendt said, and the flood district is working to improve the intake system.
That project is in the permitting process, she said.
Park and Rec installed a concrete pad and sealed vault toilets and the building was donated.
Wendt said that because Park and Rec came in under budget on the pavilions, the Strauses allowed the remaining funds to be used toward the installation of another toilet.
The group plans to plant a natural windbreak this summer to help shelter the picnic area, with plans for additional pavilions.
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Wendt said they pull weeds and do trash control with neighbors and volunteer groups assisting.
Future plans include irrigation, more grass, a pollinator garden, improving/extending the path, developing a good neighbor policy and improving the fishery.
She said area neighbors have expressed concerns about speeding in the area and people throwing trash from cars, so she’s planning some social media messaging about those problems.
The city has determined park maintenance district funds can’t be used for Wadsworth improvements since it’s outside the city limits.
The city owns Wadsworth Park and leases portions to local groups.
In March, City Commissioners approved a five-year lease with the Electric City Archers for a portion of Wadsworth.
The lease covers about four acres of the park, with an option to renew for another five years at the city’s sole discretion.
Both the archery club and the city have the option to terminate the lease with 60 days written notice.
The archery group is responsible for routine maintenance of the property and a $250 annual fee.
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When the Park and Recreation department didn’t have staff or funding to manage a community archery range in the 1970s, the Great Falls Archery Club was formed and ever since, has had a “great working relationship” with the city, according to Park and Rec’s agenda report.
The archery group maintains a 26-target range designed to simulate real-life scenarios, enabling participants to develop practical skills and improve accuracy, according to the staff report. They also offer a 70-yard sight-in range to help archers properly set up and fine-tune their equipment.
Electric City Archers is a “local archery group dedicated to providing a safe, educational, and family-friendly environment for archers of all skill levels,” according to the staff report, which hosts several family-friendly tournaments throughout the year that are open to the public. “These events are designed to encourage community involvement, promote sportsmanship, and create opportunities for archers of all ages to participate and compete in a welcoming atmosphere.”
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The group also collaborates with local 4H groups and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, to provide a facility for education, practice and skill development.
“Supporting youth education and responsible outdoor recreation is an important part of our mission,” according to Park and Rec’s staff report.
In 1998, City Commissioners approved a master plan for Wadsworth Park that recommended “all existing leases continue in Wadsworth Park, renewable on a year-to-year basis, until the city is ready to begin actual physical implementation of the master plan.”
When the plan was adopted, the city didn’t establish a capital improvement plan or funding to “achieve the outcomes of the master plan. If funding would be made available, the current park master plan would need to be amended and an updated plan for Wadsworth Park would need to be developed,” according to the staff report.
In January, City Commissioners approved a new five-year lease in Wadsworth for the Great Falls Saddle club after some consternation over the master plan.
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During that meeting, a resident near Wadsworth asked commissioners to deny the lease and restructure it to implement the master plan, which called for reducing the saddle club’s leased area. He said since improvements have occurred in the park, the city should implement the master plan in phases and reconsider the saddle club’s lease.
In January, Commissioner Rick Tryon said he wasn’t aware of the master plan and initially moved to deny the lease, saying they should wait until they had more information.
Commissioner Joe McKenney said they could terminate the lease with 60 days notice if needed after reviewing the master plan.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the saddle club lease.
The Park and Rec board reviewed the master plan during their mid-January meeting.
During the Jan. 12 Park and Rec board meeting, Jessica Compton, deputy Park and Rec director, and Kevin Vining, parks supervisor, said that the improvements recommended in the 1998 plan would cost an estimated $10 million today.
When the plan was adopted in 1998, no funding was identified to fund the recommended changes, so the plan wasn’t formally followed.
Vining said they have several plans about what could be done with parks, but without dedicated funding, they’re not implemented.
The 1998 plan included a recommendation to reduce and relocate the saddle club’s leased area to create a regional park, including a soccer park.
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In November 2003, Great Falls voters approved a $2.5 million bond for construction of a soccer park, and in June 2004, the city entered a lease agreement with Great Falls Public Schools for 30 acres for a dollar per year for 25 years for use as a soccer complex. The lease allowed the city to assign the lease or sublease the property, according to city documents.
It was anticipated at the time that the soccer complex would require about 60 acres for the construction of 10 soccer fields and in September 2003, the city commission approved the purchase of 37.6 acres at the southwest corner of the intersection of 10th Avenue North and 57th Street North. The acquisition, combined with the leased GFPS land, provided the necessary land for the soccer complex, according to city documents.
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In 2009, commissioners approved a 25-year lease for $1 per year with the Great Falls Soccer Foundation for the soccer complex.
The city paid off the soccer park bond as of July 1, 2024.
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Some lessees noted in the 1998 Wadsworth plan are no longer operating in the park and some uses, such as water skiing on the pond, have ceased.
Compton said current Park and Rec management wasn’t presented with the Wadsworth Plan and were told they had to look at community partnerships to operate the city-owned park, which is located outside the city limits in the county, but it couldn’t cost the city any money.
Vining said that it costs tens of thousands of dollars to continually update plans and the Wadsworth plan sat stagnant.
The master plan called for the relocation of the main park entrance, which staff said would be an expense the department doesn’t currently have funding to do.
“Coming up with $10 million for Park and Rec would be a pretty difficult ask,” Vining said.
The board decided to review the plan and have further discussion at a future meeting, but no further discussions about the Wadsworth plan have occurred at the Park and Rec board or commission level.
*Wadsworth Pond Community Coalition photo
