Sartell’s Lions Park Getting New ADA-Accessible Restroom Facility

(KNSI) – One of Sartell’s most popular playgrounds is finally getting a permanent restroom.

The City of Sartell Parks and Recreation Department announced this week that construction on a new bathroom facility at Lions Community Park will get underway soon. The building will house two single-stall restrooms, one of them fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Lions Park sits on Pinecone Road North across from Sartell City Hall, on a six-acre parcel with the Watab River running through it.

The project caps a fundraising push by three area Lions clubs that began in earnest last year. Until now, the only toilet option at the park has been a portable unit in the parking lot, well away from the playground.

The restroom is the second phase of a broader Lions effort at the park. The Sartell, LeSauk Township and St. Stephen clubs raised $340,000 for an all-inclusive playground at the site, with $240,000 coming from local donations and a $100,000 grant from the Lions Clubs International Foundation. That playground opened in September of 2023 and features more than 6,000 square feet of rubberized surface, inset with games and designs, including blue sections meant to represent the Watab. It also includes ramps, decks, interactive play panels, a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round and two zip lines.

The idea for the playground grew out of conversations with area parents in 2022 who described how difficult traditional playground surfaces were for children using wheelchairs or crawling. At the time the council approved it, City Administrator Anna Gruber noted that future fundraising for an accessible restroom and additional parking might follow.

The clubs launched the Phase II campaign in the spring of 2025 at the Sartell Bike Rodeo, held at the park. LeSauk Township contributed $30,000 to the effort in May of that year.

The Parks and Recreation Department is asking the public to stay out of the construction zone while crews are on site.

A cost figure and completion date for the restroom have not been released.

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