The City of Afton, in cooperation with the Belwin Conservancy Center, and Washington County, is moving to purchase a 31 acre parcel of land along Valley Creek, just north of Afton’s Old Village. According to a published report, retired Minneapolis firefighter David Pergande has successfully petitioned the City and County to purchase the land and establish a park there. The project, which has a $1.3 million price tag, is a joint venture among Afton, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Washington County, and the Belwin Conservancy. A permanent conservation easement has been placed on the land. The land will become a new conservation-area park with public hiking trails, and is scheduled to open to the public in the summer of 2022.