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Managing editor

Another component has been added by the Anoka County Board to the latest improvements now under construction at Bunker Beach Water Park.

The county board, on the recommendation of its Fiscal Control Committee, has awarded a contract for construction of a new concession building at the water park, which is located in Bunker Hills Regional Park.

The low bidder was Project One Construction in the amount of $124,167. The estimate was $170,000.

The new concession building is designed to primarily serve users of the 900-foot lazy river feature and two new waterslides, which are now being built.

That project and the new concession building are scheduled for completion in time for the opening of the 2010 Bunker Beach season, which is set June 5, 2010.

The low bid on the lazy river/water slides project earlier this year, which was $2.6 million, came in 30 percent under budget.

Given that favorable bid and current bidding climate, the county board’s parks and recreation and fiscal control committees decided to move forward with the new concession building, according to John VonDeLinde, county parks and recreation director.

A second concession building at the water park was part of the master plan for this phase of the Bunker Beach expansion, VonDeLinde said.

But the building will have two other components besides serving as a concession stand, he said.

It will also include two restrooms and have an area for staff, lockers and first aid, VonDeLinde said.

The building, on which construction began immediately, will be located near the new lazy river/water slides features for the convenience of users of those facilities, according to VonDeLinde.

Otherwise they would face a long walk to the main concession building, which is near the main entrance to the water park, VonDeLinde said.

However, the new concession stand will only serve pre-packaged foods - sodas, chips, novelties, for example - not prepared food as the main concession building does, he said.

Like all improvements to Bunker Beach, the cost does not come from county tax dollars, but from revenues derived from the use of the water park.

Earlier this year, the county board included $3.1 million for the lazy river/waterslides project in a general obligation capital improvements bond issue sale.

According to VonDeLinde, the lazy river/water slides work is “right on schedule and right on or under budget.”

“Construction is going real good,” VonDeLinde said.

Besides the lazy river and water slides, the project also includes an activity/leisure pool with climbing wall and basketball hoops.

The new additions to Bunker Beach will mean an increase of 15 in the number of seasonal employees hired by the county to work at the water park during the season, VonDeLinde said.

In all, there are expected to be some 80 seasonal workers at Bunker Beach in 2010, he said.

The lazy river is designed to mimic inner-tubing down a river. It will be 900 feet long, 12 feet wide, three feet deep and take from five to 10 minutes to go round, according to VonDeLinde.

“A series of pumps will give the water a natural river-like tubing experience,” VonDeLinde said.

The new slide tower - the third in the water park - will have two tube slides emptying into a plunge pool, which will have a direct link with the lazy river, he said.

The small leisure splash pool, which will be 40 by 40 feet in size and three and half feet deep, is being constructed in the center island area of the lazy river.

“It will be a cross-generational, multi-age facility,” VonDeLinde said.

When the phase two expansion is finished, Bunker Beach will be the largest outdoor water park in the state and will be a tourist destination, not only for the north metro and the Twin Cities, but for the state and beyond, according to VonDeLinde said.

Bunker Beach, then called the Wave Pool, opened in 1988 and the first phase expansion was completed in 2003.

A financial feasibility report by consultant Springsted Inc. found that even under the worst case scenario, there would be sufficient retained earnings to meet the debt on the new project.

“We are projecting that the expansion will increase revenues at Bunker Beach 20 percent with a nominal increase in fees of $2 to $3 per person per day,” VonDeLinde.

Right now, Bunker Beach has five major amenities - wave pool, adventure pool, plunge pool, water slides and a sand play area.

There are also restrooms, changing facilities, volleyball courts, picnic area and concessions.

Peter Bodley is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it