Oakdale Nature Preserve to get a Picnic Shelter

Dust off your picnic basket and cooler.

The Oakdale City Council voted Tuesday to install an open-air picnic shelter at the end of the cul-de-sac in the parking lot that’s just south of the .

The shelter had been put into storage to make way for the construction of the Discovery Center.

The decision on where to locate the shelter didn't come without deliberation.

Park and Recreation Commission Chair Jill Sadler and Parks and Recreation Director Bruce Anderson both said they supported demolishing the former nature center building and putting the shelter there, in accordance with the master plan for the park.

“We spent a lot of time and energy on the master plan for this site,” Anderson said. “I do feel strongly that you’re going to be disappointed if you walk away from the master plan.”

Council Member Paul Reinke said he also preferred to follow the plan, even if it meant it would take longer to get a picnic shelter installed at the .

“I don’t see the problem at all with waiting,” he said.

But the majority of City Council and parks commission members supported the cul-de-sac location.

Parks Commission member Bill Rasmussen said getting the shelter up as soon as possible was a priority for him.

“It’s not a park until there’s a shelter,” he said.

Oakdale parks commission member Ted Bearth said placing the picnic shelter at the cul-de-sac location doesn’t mean abandoning the master plan, because there’s no reason there can’t be another picnic shelter at the site of the old building in the future, when the city has the funds to demolish it.

“Until that time,” he said, “it’s foolish to let this one rot.”