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Fond Du Lac, Religious School Consider Joint Park Development

Citizens' Group Opposes Leasing Half Of Park For The Project

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A citizens group in Fond du Lac is against a plan that would let a Lutheran school take over half of a city park.

Members of “Friends of McDermott Park” say they plan to turn out at a park board meeting Monday night.

The 15-acre McDermott Park has some ball fields, tennis courts and roughly seven acres of undeveloped area. The neighboring Wisconsin Lutheran Academy wants to use that space to build athletic fields. The school would pay $500,000 to build the fields, but after that would pay nothing more for 50 years.

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Nancy Sondergard, one of those against the plan, said residents haven’t had time to offer alternatives.

“This is the only park in the northeast side of the city that provides any significant greenspace in the area to play, fly a kite, picnic with your family,” Sondergard said. “It’s incomprehensible to me that they don’t see the value in that.”

The city’s parks director declined an interview. He said changes to the original proposal will be presented at the meeting.

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