The City of Greenwood removed a clump of dangerously rotten cottonwood trees behind Nikkei Park to make way for improvements to the city’s campground, a city official confirmed Wednesday, Sept. 9.
The project will see underground installations of water and sewage pipes as well as electric power, said Chief Administrative Officer Wendy Higashi. WiFi will be installed above ground, and will service the entire grounds by the time she expects construction to finish this winter.
The project will add 10 full-service camping stations for campers and recreational vehicles, plus six new tent sites.
READ MORE: Ohairi Park should be restored
The cotton woods had given much coveted shade to a popular picnic area on the site, but Higashi said the city decided the trees had to go after many residents called for the campground to be overhauled. Construction got underway earlier this summer, when she said the campground was unavailable to residents owing to the COVID-19 shutdown.
Some of the trees had dropped massive upper-canopy limbs over the summer, while others were so thoroughly decayed that they easily gave way to a front-end loader, root-balls and all.
Higashi estimates the project will cost around $70,000.
Appropriate shrubbery will be planted where the trees had stood, pending consideration by the city, she said.
@ltritsch1
laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
