By Zac Chapman / Assistant News Director

Stearns County is introducing a new interactive and informative section on their website that tells the story of each individual project and how the county spends money on capital improvement projects.

The Capital Improvement Plan is a flexible five-year guide in identifying the long-range capital needs of the county’s public facilities, parks and trails.

The goal of the CIP is to report the financial commitment the county is making to each project as well as provide detailed information on each project’s progress.

The county has facilities improvements still in the works which include removing what remains of St. Cloud’s ring road. This is a county owned street which circles the Courthouse on the downtown St. Cloud.

They are also remodeling the Administration Center in downtown St. Cloud. It’s part of the main county services campus. They’re also looking at constructing a new Law Enforcement Center in a location to be determined with the help from a space study.

The county is also improving parks and trails. The Beaver Island Trail runs southeast from the city along the Mississippi River. Once expanded, the remaining portion of the currently undeveloped trail will connect St. Cloud’s to Clearwater, via the River County Trail system.

Lastly, the Kraemer Lake Wildwood County Park has a two phase plan. Located just outside the city of St. Joseph, it’s a 265 acre park along half mile of lake frontage. Phase One of facility development includes construction of Kipper Road park entrance, upgrading parking facilities as well as adding restrooms, adding a fishing pier and picnic area. Phase Two includes construction of a picnic shelter, care takers station and a playground.