COLEHARBOR – Improvements continue at this small community. Most recently new playground equipment was installed, the final phase of improvements at the nearly 50-year-old park in the center of the city.
“Small cities deserve nice things too,” said Heith Pochant, mayor. “We hope to have a nice community event of some sort in the near future, invite all of the people that made this possible as well.”
The project was several years in the making. Some landscaping is about all that remains to be done. The old and crumbling basketball court was removed to make room for playground equipment. A new court replaced the old one. There’s a new picnic shelter too, bigger than the old one that was showing its age.
Coleharbor has 35-40 full-time residents, but that number nearly doubles in the summer due to the city being situated close to two very popular recreation destinations – Lake Audubon and Lake Sakakawea.
The new features at the city park are part of an on-going effort at Coleharbor to improve the look and facilities of the community. The city’s water system has been upgraded, including storage tanks and pumps that were 50 years old and in need of replacement.
The city park improvements were made possible by various grants and donations. Replacing the old playground equipment, which had been deemed unsafe by the city’s insurance carrier, was nearly $100,000.
When work began on the project Pochant told the Dakotan, “We’re trying to think positive and make the improvement that are necessary, clean the town up and make it more attractive.”