Dane County Executive Falk Announces Acquisition of Land at McCarthy Park

February 03, 2005
Lesley Sillaman, Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823
County Executive

Madison - Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced the acquisition of lands at McCarthy County Park, near Sun Prairie, by Dane County. The property is just over 40 acres in size and is bordered on the west and south by existing parklands and on the north and east by Koshkonong Creek. “Childhood memories of time spent outdoors are some of my fondest and helped create my lifelong appreciation for protecting our water and land resources,” said Falk. “I am especially excited that the principle goal of McCarthy County Park is to serve our youth with a setting for conservation, education and recreation activities. The current acquisition will allow us to expand youth activities, including additional equestrian trails.” McCarthy County Park was established through the donation of 180 acres by Russell and Ella McCarthy in 1974. Russell was a former County Board Supervisor and he and Ella were very involved in 4-H. Since then the Park has grown to 220 acres and the current acquisition will bring it to 260. The new property contains a wooded drumlin that will provide a nice setting for recreation and wildlife refuge and creates a future opportunity for public access to the Park from Town Hall Road. "The County cannot afford to pass up opportunities like this especially with the price of open space skyrocketing around Sun Prairie and Cottage Grove. The expansion of McCarthy Park will be an asset to both communities," said Dane County Supervisor Jeff Kostelic, a member of the Parks Commission. The County will pay $275,600, from the Dane County Conservation Fund, for the property, which is equivalent to the appraised value of $6,500/acre. In April of 1999, voters county-wide approved a measure to make $30 million available for land acquisition over 10 years. The Park is located in the Town of Sun Prairie, south of Sun Prairie and east of Madison, north of the Cottage Grove exit of Interstate Highway 94. A resolution authorizing the purchase will be introduced to the Dane County Board of Supervisors on Thursday. ###