Stutsman County Park Board Approves WBI Survey for Bakken East Near Woodworth

The Stutsman County Park Board unanimously approved WBI Energy’s request to survey additional parcels near Woodworth for the proposed Bakken East pipeline project on March 3, 2026, a board action that local reporters recorded the next day and that was reported in the Jamestown Sun. The motion passed without a recorded roll-call in the materials provided, and no WBI representative or parcel count was named in the available record.

Jamestown Sun coverage of recent Park Board business links the Bakken East survey vote to a broader push to commit American Rescue Plan Act funds to park projects before a Dec. 31 allocation deadline. Stutsman County auditor/chief operating officer Jessica Alonge told the paper that “every dollar of American Rescue Plan Act funds has to be formally allocated by Dec. 31 with proof being in the form of a contract, invoice or purchase order.”

The Jamestown Sun item also lists several park projects the board approved or tentatively approved, including obtaining a master plan for the county’s park system, replacing the Pelican Point bathhouse, creating a walking path from Hondo’s Hideaway to the shared-use area with the North Dakota Farmers Union, and installing speed bumps and signs near Hondo’s. Those approvals were described as tentative and “needs quotes.” Commissioner Levi Taylor was noted as saying a group including Jerry Bergquist and Merri Mooridian met with Interstate Engineering about the master plan.

Infrastructure funding adjustments tied to the park agenda surfaced in Jamestown Sun reporting as well. The paper reported the county de-obligated $800,000 of ARPA funds from the local share of an island bridge project at Jamestown Reservoir after securing state funding. Stutsman County Commissioner Mark Klose said the $800,000 had been intended to avoid finding additional dollars, but costs increased and the state later provided bridge funding. Daren Peterka, senior project engineer and land surveyor with Interstate Engineering, said “bids on the island bridge project aren’t scheduled to be received until January 2026. The project is expected to be completed later in 2026.”

County minutes from the Sept. 16, 2025 Park Board meeting supply additional operational context: Chairman Levi Taylor called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. with members Ben Tompkins, Mike Hansen, Amanda Hastings, Chad Wolsky, Henry Steinberger and Merri Mooridian present. The board approved a land-acquisition package for a south Ypsilanti bridge easement with parcel payments listed as parcel 1-1 $8,255; parcel 1-1A $1.00; parcel 1-2 $7,995; parcels 1-2A/1-2B $1.00 for a stated total of $16,252 (the bill listing initially showed $16,250 and was to be corrected). That motion carried with Taylor, Tompkins, Hansen, Hastings and Wolsky voting aye. The minutes also record approval for an EZ Wheels Shriner Club truck drop fundraiser, an update from Park Superintendent Dylan Kleinjan on Lakeside Campground emergency closures, confirmation that two kayak docks were being delivered, and that water trail picnic tables were ready to ship after the second installment was paid.

The March 3 vote clears the way for WBI to begin surveying near Woodworth, while park planning and ARPA accounting remain active items on the board’s agenda as county officials work toward the Dec. 31 funding documentation deadline specified by Alonge.