Amy Peterson, Community Development Director

The Kinnickinnic River is an important part of River Falls’ history, its present, and its future. Once the Kinni Corridor plan is complete and both dams are removed to restore the river to its natural state, some aspects of the river will look quite different than they do today. 

To dive into that topic, we’re joined on this episode of the Kinni Cast by Amy Peterson, the Community Development Director with the City. Amy has been very involved with the Kinni Corridor plan during her tenure and provides some insight on what residents can expect from the project when it’s completed -- and what it will mean for River Falls’ future.

Learn more about the City of River Falls at www.rfcity.org. Follow the City of River Falls on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Transcript

Tyler Mason:

Hi, River Falls. Welcome back to another episode of the Kinni Cast. My name is Tyler Mason. I'm the communications coordinator for the City, and today we're going to be talking about community development and what that is. We're also going to be talking about the Kinni River and the Kinni Corridor Project with Amy Peterson, the community development director here for the City. Amy, how are you today?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, doing well, Tyler. Thank you.

Tyler Mason:

Good. Well, let's maybe set the stage a little bit as we get into the conversation. I guess first off, how would you define community development and what that means?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, that's something, it's challenging and something that we've struggled with over time to help people and the community members understand what our department brings to them. In the broad context, really community development activities can build stronger and more resilient communities whereby members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems. And that really forms the foundation of our work, but specifically the community development department here at the city encompasses the overarching planning and development of the city. And to do that, we house economic development, planning and zoning, building inspections, code enforcement, engineering, and most recently the conservation and parks division. So you can really say it's a broad range of disciplines and thereby our work is diverse and really grounding and foundational to what River Falls is and becomes in the future.

Tyler Mason:

Yeah, like you said, a lot falls under that umbrella. So we'll get into parts to that, and I know we'll have other people from the department on future episodes, but we'll kind of focus on some of the work that you do and that sort of thing. But I guess let's talk a little bit about you. I know you've been with the City for about 10 years now, or coming up on 10 years. What have been maybe some of the favorite projects or things that you've been able to work on with the city?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, I was glad in this question. You said some because I'm not sure if I could come up with just one. Probably the one that sticks out for me most recently is really developing the department and staff that we have today. We've got a pretty amazing team, and I really enjoy working with each and every one of them. I love to watch them come together to solve problems and ensure that we have better outcomes. So that's probably a big one for me. Shaping that team is one. Working with our executive team to lead and shape where we go as an organization is another. And in the past couple years, I've taken on the responsibility to help lead our management team and do some training for our organization as well. So that's been good. If I think of specific projects, a few years ago we completed the Focus River Falls project, which included the comprehensive plan update, the outdoor recreation plan update, and a bicycle and ped plan update. So bringing development to the community, whether it's commercial, industrial, housing, and making sure the project fits and provides connections and benefit to the community is a big one too. And of course, there's the Kinni Corridor project that's been a staple project over the course of my 10 years, and it's been really fun to work on that project as well.

Tyler Mason:

And all these projects you mentioned, you can see the tangible results in the community too, which has got to be pretty rewarding. Well, you mentioned one of the biggest ones, the Kinni Corridor project, which I've been hearing about since before I started working for the city. That's one of the ones we want to focus on today. Let's maybe start with the basics of it. What is the Kinni Corridor project for maybe those who aren't familiar or just know of it on the peripheral, and then also when did the City begin working on this project?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, so I've heard that the project probably started 15 or 20 years ago with the conversation about the dams and the future of the river, but the larger city process really got started back in 2016 with the kickoff of the Kinni Corridor planning project. That was led by my predecessor, Buddy Lucero. That plan was completed then in 2018, and it lays out the future direction for natural resources and river ecology, parks and recreation, land use access, and more specifically related to the river corridor in the city.

Tyler Mason:

I guess just maybe kind drilling in a little bit more on that, when you look at what all it entails, what do we look at with that and what the plan is for the Kinni?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, so I mean, the city council upon the adoption of the Kinni Corridor plan basically said that both dams needed to come out in the river be restored, but the Kinni Corridor plan included much more than that. It was kind of the foundations for greenway access along the river and what that would mean to the community. It's a wonderful resource that the community has, and I think people that live here know that and people that don't live here know that too, but really how are we going to manage it in the future and what is it going to look like? And I think the plan really laid out a different future than what we see today as far as increased recreational capacity along the river.

Tyler Mason:

And the recreation piece is a big one. And I know there's been a few different organizations that have been working with the city, including the US Army Corps of Engineers, and more recently, the National Park Service has gotten involved. What has it meant to have those partners on board with this project?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, it's been a huge shift for us because after the council decided, okay, yep, take out both dams, restore the river, I was kind of like, wow, that's a really big project. How do we get going on that? It was when we got connected with the Corps and the Continuity Authorities Program, or CAP 206 program, that we really began to see that we had a path forward potentially for how this could happen because the Army Corps of Engineers can bring in millions of dollars to a project like this. It makes it feasible. It doesn't mean that we still have millions of a gap. We do, but it gives us a path forward.

Tyler Mason:

And then for the National Park Service, they maybe have a different role in this. What sort of role are they playing maybe compared to the Corps?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, we're super thankful to have the Park Service on board with us in their Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. So it's a technical assistance program. We really figured it out as the Corps came in to start looking at the design for the river that we needed to make sure if there were going to be access points or recreation that was taking place in areas where the Corps was going to be working, that we needed the Corps to know that as they were designing that part of the river. So we really had the park service come in to take the foundational plan of the Kinni Corridor and refine it and give us more design, more details. We've gotten so far at this point that we've got cost estimates for some of those design projects. So it really took the Kinni Corridor plan to the next step so that as we potentially, if the council decides to move into design with the Army Corps of Engineers, we already know what the greenway green space projects are going to look like as well.

So the other organization I wanted to mention was the Kinni Corridor Collaborative. So as we came out of the planning process back in 2018, again, council said both dams out, restore the river. We weren't sure how to make that happen. We thought and knew that a public-private partnership would be helpful in raising funds to be able to fund the project, and the Kinni Corridor Collaborative was formed in 2019 to fulfill that role. They have been focusing on outreach and education and fundraising along with river monitoring prior to 2024. So it's been with their partnership that we've been able to get the feasibility study going with the Corps of Engineers, and we're hoping that they're able to continue with assistance on the project in the future.

Tyler Mason:

So the Army Corps and the National Park Service were represented at an open house in June, as well as obviously city staff, including yourself. That open house allowed the public to come and ask questions or provide feedback on the project. I'm curious what sort of things you've heard, whether it was at that open house or just any other time throughout your tenure here at the city from the community as regards with regards to the Kinni Corridor project?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, I hear a lot of things across the spectrum, but for the most part, I think what I hear is, 'Let's go already. Let's get the dams out. What's taking so long?' This is a major project that takes many, many years with federal and state agencies that don't -- I mean, we think city government moves slow sometimes, but they move even slower. So it's having the patience to move at their pace. So that's probably the biggest thing I hear. We do have a contingency in the community that wants to keep the dams from a green energy perspective mostly, and sometimes I get questions from people that have moved to River Falls recently asking why are we planning to take out the dams. So it's continued education that matters on very long-term projects like this to keep the community informed of where we're headed.

Tyler Mason:

What is your response to those who ask, why take out the dams, or how do you describe what the long-term impacts of that will be for the Kinni?

Amy Peterson:

Well, I start with the history and this project started a long time ago when the community and the council decided to take the dams out and restore the river, and then the huge impacts that it will have in the future.

Tyler Mason:

Well, as we look ahead now, you talked about the history of this and it's been an ongoing thing for a while now. As we look ahead to the next few years, what will that planning and then the eventual work look like for the Kinni Corridor?

Amy Peterson:

So the Army Corps of Engineers right now is completing the feasibility study. We expect that to be finalized in the next month or so. Probably we're looking at the end of October for a City Council workshop, and at that point we'll want council to determine whether or not the city should move forward into a design contract with the Corps of Engineers. If they choose to do that, it will take potentially four to six months to get that contract in place. So by early 2026, we'll have a contract in place, and then design would start and would take a year to a year and a half. That would put the earliest potential of construction to begin in 2028. But again, the end of October is when council will kind of give the yay or nay as to whether we go forward into design with the Corps as far as the amenities that are designed through the Park Service planning process, when we talk about working with the Corps of Engineers, they are taking the dams out and restoring the river. The $20 million estimate we have for that project doesn't fund at all any of the amenities along the river.

Tyler Mason:

The recreational part of it.

Amy Peterson:

So that stuff will come after, and we're going to need to find funding sources for that as well.

Tyler Mason:

I'm just trying to envision what it's going to physically look like when they are removing the dams. I mean, that whole process just, I can't wrap my head around it, so I'm curious to see what that's going to look like. I'm sure you've probably seen how it's been done elsewhere, but I'm interested to see what that happens or when that happens, what that actually looks like.

Amy Peterson:

It's a lot of concrete to come out. It's a lot of soil to be moved. Yeah, it will look messy for a while.

Tyler Mason:

For sure, for sure. Well, when the project is all said and done, whenever that eventual finish line is, what do you think it will mean for the city and for the community?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah. Sometimes when I think about this project and the future of River Falls, I wish that I would've been born 50 years later because what I envision that's going to be here, I would like to have had in my youth. I think the amenities that are going to be here, the miles of looped trails that we have planned in our multiple panel plans, whether it's the bike ped plan or the Kinni Corridor plan, enhanced green spaces for play and picnicking and quiet contemplation and amphitheater for gathering really is going to enhance the space along the river for both community members and visitors in the future. Paired on top of that with a downtown project that will reimagine the infrastructure in downtown and the streetscape as well, I think if you come back to River Falls in 30 years, it's going to look like a very different place -- a better place for us all to enjoy.

Tyler Mason:

That's exciting to think about. And yeah, as someone who I try to get out kayaking on the Kinni once or twice a year at least, and just even being in the city here, it's exciting to think about what that will look like. Like I said, when you said 30 years or however along, that might be, but yeah. That's exciting. Well, Amy, last question here for you, and then we'll let you off the hook. This is a question that everyone on the podcast gets asked at the end of it. What impact do you hope that your work will have on the people of River Falls?

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, it is a big question. I hope that I will have had a positive impact on my City coworkers, first and foremost. While city government work is typically stable and provides a decent living, it comes with challenges that other professions do not. And I hope that I'll have been able to contribute to our city's culture and vision and to make it a little better workplace for those that are here. Aside from that, for the citizens of River Falls and the future of the city, I hope that we've succeeded in increasing connectivity, furthering the vision for a greener river corridor, and increasing livability by really reshaping how people interact with their environment and each other in the community. That's a big ask, but hopefully we've made some incremental steps,

Tyler Mason:

I would say so. I'm excited to see this work continue and to work with you on some of this and be a part of it as well. So Amy Peterson, community development director here at the City of River Falls, thanks so much for being on the Kinni Cast today.

Amy Peterson:

Yeah, good to be with you, Tyler.

Tyler Mason:

Absolutely. And thank you everyone for listening to this episode of the Kinni Cast. If you don't subscribe yet, you can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, also at the City of River Falls website, rfcity.org. Be sure to tell your friends and neighbors because this information is something that they might want to know as well. So until next time, have a great day, River Falls.