NORTH DAKOTA ( KXNET )— For episode 23 of The Voice of the People, Nicholas Quallich spoke with Bismarck Parks and Rec . Executive Director Kevin Klipfel. The two discussed what goes into park planning, some of the challenges Klipfel sees and to what extent parks are being used with so many options to keep North Dakotans busy.

Here is a transcription of the podcast.

Nicholas Quallich: Hello and thank you for joining us for the Voice of the People podcast here on KXNET.com. I’m Nicholas Quallich and today we’re talking about recreation. Joining us for our discussion is Kevin Klipfel. He’s the Executive Director of the Bismarck Parks and Recreation District. Kevin, thanks for joining me.

Kevin Klipfel: Thanks for inviting me.

Quallich: My pleasure. So appropriately enough, we’re talking about going outdoors, which could be one of the hottest weeks so far of the summer. But before we get into that, Kevin, just for those who may not be familiar, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into this line of work.

Klipfel: Oh, wow! That’s a long story, but I’ll try to keep it short. You know, I went to college at the University of North Dakota, got interested in recreation through some classes and some instructors that I met over the years. Went through quite a few different career changes before I got there, but then I came back to Bismarck, was involved at the recreation specialist level for about eight years. I’ve taken some leadership positions in some other communities before coming back to Bismarck in 2009. So I’ve been back in Bismarck for just about 15 years in the field.

Quallich: And we should point out if people don’t know, Kevin’s been featured on our Someone You Should Know series. And of course, you can check that out on kxnet.com. So, Kevin, what’s been your, an achievement that you are most gratified by working in this position as executive director at Bismarck Parks and Rec?

Klipfel: You know, I think working with people to try to find a way or a solution to have a good event, have a good park. I think in our community we really are successful if we can work together. So, specifically, you know, I don’t have anything real specific that I can point my finger at now, but I’ve always liked to work with people and especially to see a program, an event, a park, or a facility come to fruition. So, I’ve had the opportunity over my career to work with some different events, both in Bismarck and in one of my positions in Dickinson, being open to open a facility and see the people really gravitate toward that and really take ownership in that facility as a community that, hey, this is something we really like, we’re really proud of, and we’re happy that we have it.

Quallich: Of course, Bismarck and all of North Dakota is just beautiful with all of its nature and the scenic landscapes. Of course, different times of the year bring different benefits and disadvantages, of course, but we have a lot of beautiful parks all over the state, in different cities as well. So, in your experience and from what you’ve heard from the public when it comes to Bismarck anyway since that’s what you’re in charge of. Are people more gravitated to get out to the parks in weather like this or do they tend to enjoy the air conditioning more?

Klipfel: You know I think in the spring and summer everybody is excited to get out like anybody we have to acclimate to the temperatures just like we do in the winter and I don’t think it scares people away too much when it really gets hot when I see triple digits. I think we still see a little bit more of people gravitating you know back to the air-conditioned space. But I think you know in our community I think people are just so excited to be able to be outside because the window is so short for us that I think people stay busy. They take advantage of shade and stopping and enjoying just enjoying nature and in parks and then getting back to being active and moving and moving around the system.

Quallich: You had mentioned it to me just before we did this interview about the studies that Mark Parks and Rec has have done over the years and namely the population growth expected in the next coming decades. One I read was expected to hit and I don’t remember the year but 100,000 people. So, that begs the question, of course, in 2017, you guys sent out that study asking people what they’d like to see, and some of the top answers, this is in 2017, concert, outdoor movie areas, number two was hiking trails, and number three was splash pads. So, give us a rundown as far as how that’s going for people living in the Bismarck area.

Klipfel: You know, yeah, so since then, you know, we’ve had a splash pad added at New Generations Park. We’ve continued to look at other options, too. We’d like to get one more in the south end of town so that we have some of those same amenities on both ends of town, just to create an easiness of access for those folks that live throughout our community. So we continue to look at things like that, and that’s been a very popular attraction in our community.

Quallich: Of course, you have to have funds to do that. And so, what are some of the biggest concerns that you’ve heard from people living in the area who say, you know, this is great, but how can we get more amenities?

Klipfel: Yeah, I think, you know, depending on what the project is, we’re always looking for opportunities to leverage our dollars with, it could be private groups, you know, through sponsorships or just support of a facility or a venue that we’re opening, and also looking at grant opportunities. And we’ve been very successful for many, many years in getting grants from different opportunities, Land and Water Conservation Fund, these land and water conservation fund, outdoor recreation programming, recreational trails program and the TA grants have really been, have helped us expand our trail system throughout the years. So, it’s leveraging the dollars that we have in trying to utilize some of those grant opportunities to get these projects done.

Quallich: And just going back to that study and some of the other similar studies that have happened not just in recent years but before this, can you explain to people who may not necessarily be interested in technical numbers and data research, but how you all decide upon how many parks are determined for a certain part of the area?

Klipfel: So our park and open space policy was developed back in 2013. And so this is something that we worked with with the city commission to get into. So when the developers start looking at residential developments throughout our community, one of the steps is to work with the park district to get a neighborhood park as part of that development. So we like to have a neighborhood park within a half mile walking distance of every house in Bismarck. And so we work with those developers to decide what type of amenities we’ll put in those parks. In neighborhood parks generally, there’s gonna be a playground, a shelter, maybe a loop trail through there, some green space. And so we like to have those, like I said, within about a half mile walking distance of everybody in their neighborhood.

Quallich: And when it comes to people that do or are interested in the research, and they are happy to hear that this policy will help to enable that and has enabled to do that. Yet, the policy is now 11 years old. So how often in your experience or at least, you know, what you’ve heard from maybe other park representatives that you’ve heard from, how often does something like this need to be updated?

Klipfel: You know, right now it seems to the policy the way it’s written in ordinance and city ordinance, it seems to be working very well. I think that we were every developers a little bit different. Sometimes developers have more land available, or they, they would like to see some other amenities in that neighborhood park so they may say hey, let’s let’s look at a bigger park let’s add some of those more destination type events, it could be a pickleball or a tennis court. It could be a sand volleyball court. It could be many, many, many other things, a splash pad, things like that. So that’s the conversations that we have with those developers as they move forward to say, hey, what is our community looking for today and what do we need for tomorrow?

Quallich: And the reason I say that is just a different, maybe a little bit of an extreme example, but in 1993, you had the internet in its very early stages, at least for people like ourselves. Fast forward to 2003, and then here you are. People are starting to bring it into their homes, and it’s getting more usage and more attention. So with that in mind, I think a lot of people, at least people from where I’m from, a bigger city like Cleveland or something like that, they may be surprised to hear that more people are taking advantage of the parks because, you know, especially with all the distractions we have nowadays, especially, you know, digitally, whether it’s video games or, you know, things of that nature, people may be surprised to hear that people are still actually getting out and wanting to go to their local park.

Klipfel: Yeah, I, you know, the feeling I get is, you know, that people want to disconnect. I think COVID really, really shined a light on this for us, for everybody. And I really, I think that people have gravitated even more toward the parks because of that, because they wanted that social connection. They wanted to be in the outdoors. They wanted to get out and do something. And I think they’ve learned to appreciate that. And people always think in parks, they’re always thinking of the physical aspect, but it’s the mental health aspect of being able to get out and do some bird watching. I was sitting yesterday just watching a squirrel, finding some nuts and some food, and it was just a relaxing, peace of mind type of activity that you didn’t have to really do anything, but just watching nature in its finest. We have geese, ducks, turkeys, deer on our property throughout the district and being able to get out in that natural space and just do some of those things and be able to experience those things, I think really, really goes to helping people get mentally recharged for their daily lives, whether it be work or family.

Quallich: Yeah, it is amazing when you think about how attached we are to all of our smart devices and just, you know, I mean, I know I find it difficult to just, A, number one, come home and relax and not try to think of what you got going on the next day, but to actually make the physical effort to go out to a park and just sit and, as you say, watch a squirrel or a bird or a dog just sit on the pond and, you know, it takes a lot. So, I mean, you know, this isn’t necessarily about, you know, the mental health aspect of the parks, but in your experience, having done this for a while now, what sort of recommendations could you make to our viewers as far as, you know, sort of trying to disconnect and say, okay, I’m going to get out to a park and do what you’ve just described?

Klipfel: You know, I think that’s trying to find something that you like to do, that you enjoy, that’s, you know, and everybody’s level of comfort is different, what they like to do. And it’s surprising the number of people that I see. For a while slacklining was big. And if you don’t know slacklining is, it’s basically tying a strap between a couple of, a lot of times it was trees in our park and people walking across that and doing acrobatic type activities. I will see people just grab a hammock and set it up in a park and read a book, take a nap, sitting by the trail, just watching the river flow by you know watching the bridge activity that’s going on I mean going up to Chiefs looking village and just the beautiful view that’s up there and everybody has a different Level of what they like to do and in and there’s so many things you can do it in our inner parks I think is to get out and just enjoy that space.

Quallich: As you said, you know, you you can’t do something that you think you enjoy unless you actually make it a priority to do that. So, there are a lot of different options as far as people who live in Bismarck that when they go to a park, they can do X, Y, or Z. But is there some letter, B, or T, or whatever you want to designate it as, as far as what you’ve heard of that people say may be lacking in Bismarck parks right now?

Klipfel: You know I think you probably hit it on the head at the beginning, Nicholas is talking about the growth in our community and we’re just we’re seeing some capacity issues is what we’re really seeing and it’s in a variety of activities. It’s tennis and pickleball, it’s aquatics, it’s you know a splash pad is something that we’d like. We’d like to we talked about a dog park on the south end of town you know trying to balance some of those things. But then with all the growth we have up in the north end of town, you know, it really is trying to keep up with that growth. And, you know, we’re going to see that those capacity issues in a lot of places. And our trail system in Bismarck, I think, is second to none. We’ve got some neat topography. We’ve got, we’re always looking for trail connections to our community that continue to grow as our community grows. And I think that’s huge. As people just like to be able to jump on a trail and do whatever activity. There’s people that walk, that bike, that roller blade. And they just like to be able to have that opportunity. And it’s not just a shared use paths, it’s also single track trails, being out in nature and having a little more of a more rugged experience in that, inside of a community like in many different places we have.

Quallich: And you mentioned aquatics and I know one of the things that we had talked about maybe if not last summer but the summer before was just getting the amount of lifeguards. So not only is that an opportunity for young people and older people I suppose to help out their community, you can also get paid doing it.

Klipfel: Yeah, no we have a we it’s just amazing I don’t think people realize we employ about 1,300 part-time and volunteer people over the course of a year. And we have a variety of people. We have that 14, 15, 16-year-old young person that’s looking for their first job, and we have some of our best employees, or some of our some retired people, or some older people. It’s a second job, or it’s a, I want to stay busy, or I didn’t have time to do things like this. And I really like being in an area. It could be a pool, an arena, or a fitness facility. I like mowing grass. There’s all kinds of things you can do throughout the park district. And so that’s really, those people are key to our organization. And we’ve had a really good year so far. We’re staffed up to full capacity in our pools. We always could use a few more lifeguards. That’s always gonna help. But in a lot of other areas in our operations, our maintenance side, we’re fully staffed, which has really, really been helpful to our operation to keep up with a lot of the grounds maintenance that we have throughout the district.

Quallich: And how’s the new pool pass system working?

Klipfel: You know, it really, it wasn’t a huge change. I think I’ve heard some positive comments on the passes as people didn’t like to sew the patch on their suit. So this has become much, much easier. It was a little bit of a challenge for our staff to get the pictures taken and things on the front end, but they did a bang-up job getting that done. And now with the warm temperatures we’ve got going this week, we’re really excited to see people even more utilizing those outdoor pools.

Quallich: I was going to say, I might have been in trouble. I’m not a very good sewer, so I’m glad you guys did the digital thing. So, Kevin, if you could just snap your fingers and make one of your biggest headaches go away, what would it be?

Klipfel: You know, it’s really trying to keep everybody happy, trying to provide, I shouldn’t even keep everybody happy, trying to provide what people want in our time. You know, we tried to build an indoor recreation center a few years back, we tried to get a sales tax passed to hit right during COVID, but you know, that was our growing community really gives us some challenges, like I said, in capacity. And then people want to do the activities that they do all summer long. They want to do those all year round. So they want to participate in soccer and lacrosse, and, you know, they want to play baseball and basketball and volleyball. They want to swim. They want to do all these things all year round. And so if I could snap my fingers and provide that opportunity to everybody in our community, that would be great. I always tell people I talk to, I keep buying lottery tickets because one of these days I’m going to win.

Quallich: Sure. So can you tell us, you know, what might be on the horizon in the years to come as far as, you know, project number one? What would it be?

Klipfel: You know, right now, we’ve in our 2025 budget, we’re really looking at doing some improvements to a variety of facilities, but we’ve met, we’re always meeting with user groups and things and we’ve looked at opportunities for pickleball. We continue to look for opportunities to replace Capital Racket Fitness Center, which is an aging facility that has gymnastics and tennis and some fitness opportunities up there. We’re always looking, trying to work with other groups, whether it be other government entities like the city, the county, the school district, and then BSC as they continue to grow. That’s another going to be another neat opportunity for our community is that college grows and goes to a four-year college. What other things can we work together to provide BSC and the community?

Quallich: With that in mind, you mentioned something that is, you know, I’ve been doing this job for 10 years now in different markets, and I remember one of the first times I heard the word pickleball Was when I was working in Rochester, so it’s really you know that’s now. It’s 10 years So are you surprised by just how popular that sport has grown over this for me anyway this last decade?

Klipfel: You know it. I think it just took a while to grab hold I always give my old PE teacher Jack Lynch, 1983, he was teaching pickleball in the basement of Bismarck High School. So most people think pickleball, most people that aren’t familiar with it think it’s a new sport, but it was invented I think back in the 60s, and I think it really it had taken taken hold in some retirement. It was more of a retirement activity, retirement communities, and this one people, snowbirds started to come back up north, not just to Bismarck or North Dakota, but just across the Midwest and the North. I think they started to bring that activity. Again, they want to play that activity year-round. So they’re playing it someplace, whether it could be here indoors or outdoors or someplace else. And I think it’s really the demographics has changed. I think that’s the biggest thing is I have a couple of 21-year-old boys that a couple nights a week, they’re going over to play pickleball with their buddies. It’s not just a retirement or an older person’s activity anymore. It’s a family activity. People are going out as families, younger people. That’s really where it’s taken off and taken hold. Sure. Yeah, and it looks almost too easy, but there’s been some concern about people just making sure they’re physically well enough to be able to do that because like I said, I guess with any sport, whether it’s tennis or, you know, you just got to know your limits. So you don’t want to just kind of jump in.

Quallich: And so, and I mentioned at the beginning of the podcast, Kevin, you know, here we are, you know, at least not in Bismarck, but I know out in the western, more western half of the state, they can get up to the high hundreds. And you know, today on this Monday, we’re shooting this on Monday, there are concerns about, you know, smoke and so on. So, tell us about what the park does as far as when it gets up to the high temperatures, at least the recommendations they would make for people who may be considering or weighing whether to go out to the parks or not.

Klipfel: You know, I think the biggest thing is knowing your limits. You know, you want to stay hydrated. Everybody’s heard that year after year, time after time, is staying hydrated. And then take breaks. If you can do some things, I don’t care whether it’s your job or a physical activity or if you’re out just walking the trails, any stop, sit down, take a little break in the shade, and then move on. And if you’re not feeling good, take a break. We, with our activities, with the heat, we try to take more activities, try to get the kids a little bit more water so that they just don’t think about it. Kids don’t think about it. So it’s taking some breaks and getting a little extra water.

Quallich: So I guess to wrap things up, Kevin, can you tell us why you feel Bismarck has, in your opinion, some of the best parks in the state?

Klipfel: Wow! That’s a great question. You know, I look at, and I think you, you always look at what you have and I think what were you doing, you’re most proud of it. And I guess some of the people that we’ve brought in, we had a group of folks in that were across the United States, park professionals, just a few months ago and gave them tours and showed them around some of our parks and facilities. And to a T, they always say they’re so happy about how clean our city is, how maintained the parks are, the opportunities that we have. And I think that it’s nice to hear that from an outside perspective, but it really, from a park professional’s perspective, they really see that. And it’s not just the parks that are like that. It’s everybody’s yard and lawn, everything, the community really takes pride in looking good, being good, and we’re going to continue to try to improve what we’ve gotten and continue to try to be the best.

Quallich: And I will ask you, you mentioned the professionals coming in, so what do you, or to whom do you attribute, or what reason do you attribute the amount of work it takes to keep the parks clean, namely from litter and things like that?

Klipfel: You know, I think it’s a community effort. I think your staff does a bang up job, but it’s not just our staff. It’s when you’re walking down the road, when I’m driving down, and I’m in a park, and I see somebody just bend over and pick up a piece of garbage. And it’s not their garbage, but they take pride in where they live, what they do, and where they recreate. And I think that really makes my heart swell when people do that, because they’re taking care of their community, and we really appreciate that.

Quallich: Sure. So you mentioned that, taking care of their community, people, you know, taking pride in what they do as far as making the city as clean as possible. But I guess here’s your chance to give your appeal. How can the citizens of Bismarck help make things better and help your job become a little bit easier?

Klipfel: You know, I think just telling us what you need, what you want, and what you like. Some of the best suggestions I think came from people that had a concern about something and maybe we didn’t know about it Maybe we didn’t see it. You know, sometimes I think because you’re around something every day You’re in this in the same building. You’re at the same park. You’re at the same trail. You might miss something because it’s just you kind of overlook it So I really encourage people to to provide that feedback for us. Tell us what you want need and then and then also is there a way you can help us get there? Because like I said at the beginning, we don’t do any of this stuff alone. We work with a variety of people, a variety of agencies, and the more we work together, the more we’re gonna get done.

Quallich: Sure, and how would you like to hear from people?

Klipfel: You know, our phones are always open. Like you said, the internet, we’ve got a website, we’ve got an email address that those questions get routed or concerns get routed to the proper people. Right now we got a water main project in front of our office so it’s a little hard to get here physically but in a week hopefully that’ll be done. But yeah, reach out through our email or through the telephone. It’s the best ways to talk to us.

Quallich: Sure. Well Kevin, I really appreciate your time talking to me about this. Like I said, I know sometimes people may, especially in our busy age, they may feel, you know, the last thing they could do is just kind of slow it down or get out and do something but you know it’s it’s a health benefit it’s community benefit and it’s just basically there for anybody who wants to take advantage of it so so thanks again for all you do Kevin and I’m sure at least you’ll be hearing for some some of our viewers as to what they might want to see in the future when it comes to the city parks so again Kevin thanks a lot and thank you for joining us for the Voice of the People podcast here on KXNET.com. We’ll be back soon with more on the questions and answers affecting you. Because remember, it’s your voice that matters: The Voice of the People.

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