At a recent meeting, the Perry City Council approved the purchase of two parcels of land near Pattee Park, which will be used for a new wilderness area.

Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson says they’ve been working on the project for the last year, with the land in question located just north of the soccer complex. He notes they came to purchase agreements with the landowners based on the appraised value of the property, and the Council approved the prices of $89,300 and $45,200. As the properties currently sit, the parcels are mostly wetland with some tillable land, and Peterson says the City has plans for both terrains. “So we wanted to be able to acquire that area primarily for the wetland, but I think we’ll also be given the opportunity to develop some natural prairie area in the other portion and probably have some mowed paths for walking and things like that. So (it’s) really exciting to be able to kind of expand the Pattee Park area up into there and kind of have a new type of area to be able to take care of.”

With the land acquisition now complete, Peterson is hopeful the project can begin soon and possibly be ready for use by next spring.