8.0. PRSR 07-13-1994 1.■
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SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS
22ND. , . ,„ ,.. • • • . r s• , , , ,
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JUNE 1994 77,, 7•7.. , , 7 , : -
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WEDNESDAY • '.' I I: . •i-. ,..• • , .
8 PAGES
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th --. a .to' discontent . .
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ounty offers.priVacyferice . ' ' ., Mack said construction of the path, called the
• • Rice Creek West Regional Trail Corridor, is expec-.
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o dissatisfied homeowners .
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ted to start in mid July and be ready for use after The a or ay. • , . • • • . TRAIL GETS
GO-AHEAD
i $200,000
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"I hope the neighbors will be satisfied with the which also can
BEN CHANCO STAFF WRITER ' final product and that they will enjoy it and find it be used for
Drs '• • - an asset, not a detriment," he said.-.
, • . .•_ . In line roller
ikei. and hikers are looking forward to a new 7 The trail will go by the yards of 47 homes that skating, got a
trail in New Brighton, but some nearby homeowners back up to the north side of a seldom used railroad resounding
are upset that Ramsey County is paving the way for track.'Many of the homeowners, worried about noise recommendation
publicirecreation beside their backyards - • and loss of privacy, want a buffer from the trail. from a county
The $200,000 asphalt path, which also can be used ...The.path, part of the regional trail system, will committee. I
• for in-line roller skating, got a resounding'recom-. run from the north end of Long Lake Regional Park •
mendation from the county's Public.Works, Parks and follow the railroad corridor into Fridley.
and Recreation Committee. - ' Lyle Bellis, one of the unhappy property owners,
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Greg Mack, director of parks and recreation, ex- was still upset Tuesday even after the county told•pects the full County Board to approve the 1.4-mile- ' 'him and his neighbors that, they could shield their .
long, 10-foot-wide trail at its meeting Tuesday. - . TRAIL CONTINUED ON 3B
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SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS N 3B i
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UBURBS
Proposed APPLE VALLEY
walking and .
\ r I biking trail ' '' >< j • ,
::9-C.,--4W., a ri -' 4. • Gravel pit deal includes
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{X 25 3 Na new park,, drama e relief.Rice ns \ . ,b I�
IA,9 . Creek 11 /!
'�o ,'. °' w The agreement between thecit-
dam, , . ; BILL GARDNER STAFF wR:TER
, ies does a number of things intend-
jd. NEW „,r ,...
.x�� ,, 4 �” ed to please Lakeville residents?,.;,_
i EBRIGHTON in p
2''g �• � 4 Creating a 38-acre park and fix- •Water that had been draining
L � ;. ` ®�° ing a drainage problem are part of across back yards of some people• 1 ® ,„: a deal reached between Apple Val- in the Dodd Pointe neighborhood
y , µms 4�.�, 1 V ley and Lakeville to solve prob- in Lakeville will now be piped
PIONEER PRESS lems caused by a new gravel pit in away from the neighborhood. C,,..-
•A 38-acre staging area for,Zhe
T�A�� The settlement ends six months county Public Works Department
,, . of. negotiations::between:the two at the.corner of County Road.46,
cities concerning.the gravel opera- and Pilot 'Knob .Road will,4be
V CONTINUED FROM 1e ' : tion:: A year agog;-Apple;Valley ,deeded by, the county to. Apply
gave Fischer Sand.and Aggregate •Valley for a park that will serve
homes from`the,trail with.their 'Co. permission.to move.its opera_: both cities., *
• al
choice of a 6-foot wooden privacy tions from a largely mined-out site ::•County.Road 46, which is the
fence or.landscaping :,;.:, north of County Road 42 to a new,.'%.border.:between the cities.and:is
"This is government bureaucra- site south of the road . `the southern edge of the gravel'
icy and. irresponsibility at its fin- ,That decision upset Lakeville mining area, will be moved 20 feet.
est," Bellis said. ."They. (parks residents because the new gravel north when it is widened next year",
planners) have no concern for the pit would be closer to them. They from a. two-lane..to a four-lane .
plight of homeowners. They just worried about air quality from road.
want to get their projects done.", diesel fumes and dust kicked up by •A traffic signal will-be putjat,.
r'Mack said the county had pre- the mining and:;feared: falling the intersection of Galaxie Road
ferred landscaping.instead of fenc property values and County Road 46 ,t,_F
ing,but 26 of the 47 property own- ,
-ers; responded in'a survey. that - -- 1
they:.wanted fencing. —
•`"We're bowing to their wishes,
Mack said..
The fences and landscaping will
be installed in September and Oc-
tober-after. the trail is completed.'
Bellis said all he can do now is
monitor the trail construction as
closely as he can. ,
"But I really don't need this,"he
said;"Nobody wants .a bike path
40 feet.from their..bedroom win-
dow."••
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SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS
2ND
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JUNE 1994 •N C
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SDAY ' SECTION
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Woodbury to vote on recreation bonds
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. _ _ . .a7.8 million would be used hood Improvements to 14 of the city's 28 neighbor-
hood parks,including the addition of play equipment,
to develop 80-acre complex basketball and tennis courts, picnic shelters and
• year-round recreation activity buildings.
JIM BROEDE STAFF WRITER •Acquisition of land for designation as permanent
` open space.
®t is being promoted as an opportunity to play "We need to play catch-up," said John Dickhudt,
g p pp y p y chairman of the Residents for Recreation Commit-
ca Woodbury voters will go to the polls Saturday tee. "We are way behind in development of our
•from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. to decide the fate of a $7.8 kids and adults.Wke haven't held a recreation-related
d
million recreation bond issue. bond issue referendum for 22 years, and that's a
'The City Council has proposed spending that, plus 'shame."
$1.3 million already in city coffers, for: The last issue passed in 1972, when Woodbury had
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••Development of an 80-acre recreation complex only 6,500 residents and was more rural than urban
of outdoor ball fields, an ice arena, a field house,
picnic grounds, a bandstand, trails and ponds. WOODBURY CONTINUED ON 2C> _
` Athletic boosters .
lobbied the city for
— the referendum.
dler to the oldest senior citizen.
People of all ages use the neigh-
WOODBURY borhood parks and the picnic shel-
YY OO _ tern.But they'll also be able to use
a track in the field house for jog-
v. CONTINUED FROM IC ging and walking in the winter."
in character. Now, it is Washing- City officials estimate that the
in-
ton County's•Now, and fastest- bond issue will result in tax in-
y biggest creases ranging from $41 on a
growing city, with a population of $75,000 home to $167 on a
27,000. $300,000 home.
"Unfortunately, our recreation Also, by spreading the debt over
facilities aren't growing nearly as 20 years the city plans to tap the
fast as the city," Dickhudt said. I future tax base. That means prop-
"We now turn kids away from our erty owners who haven't arrived 1
baseball, football and soccer pro- yet will pay part of the bill. 1
grams because there just aren't "This is the cheapest crime pre-
enough fields to go around." vention dollar we can spend,"
Athletic boosters such as Dick- Dickhudt said. "We are giving our
hudt lobbied the city for the refer- kids more opportunity to stay ac-
• endum. • tive, instead of sitting in front of
"We think there's strong support the TV or hanging around the f
for this bond issue," Dickhudt said, street corners."
"because there's something in it City officials said they are un-
for everyone, from the tiniest tod- aware of any organized opposition
to the bond issue. ..1. I
IQ r, t ..: . s t' s. ...,.. ^. .....- •. , 'c. Sys 1t,-• x ` t S t-.t-di`{ --
--MONDAY MAY 9, 1994 -. -1 . "- ;. SAINT PAUL'PIONEER PRESS 0,..t.7:,-.1.'41.,• , �'`N;►'S C {
{ `-.ate � R,i I
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• ( ottage G rove bond r referendum returns
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■. Proposal.would contain for,the referendum. zell said. "But we'll put existing space to
"" only recreation projects We have a couple of choices," Frazell better use It still won't be an ideal situa-
y p J said. "We could schedule it for the gener- tion. But we should be able to live with it
al election on Nov. 8. But then we'd be for the next 10 ea
JIM BROEDE STAFF WRITER competing with an excess-levy referen- years."
a r e
dum in the South Washington Count � City officials also'are exploring the
C��++ $ y possibility of the local Economic Devel-
ottaa Grove voters last year reject- School District. The city issue would
g Y ) opment Authority building the fire sta
'ed an $8 million bond issue for every stand alone if we put it to a vote instead tions, after which the city would acquire, 1
'thing from a new city hall to an athletic -at the Sept. 13 primary election. them under a lease-purchase arrange-
fields complex. The aim also is to have the recreation ment.
'"But city officials aren't ready to give improvements stand alone: "Sometimes we haver to be innovative
••up. Last time, they were linked to other to get things done," Frazell said.
--The Cottage Grove City Council has projects. Those included building a new It was the Cottage Grove Athletic.As-
come back with a scaled-down proposal, • city hall; remodeling the current City sociation that called for the city to get.
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this one for approximately $3 million, to Hall for use entirely by the police depart- : the new athletic fields done. • •
"• pay for.recreation projects only. - ment; construction of three new fire sta- "The' association circulated titions
"The details still have to be worked tions; and expansion of the public works and collected more than 700 signatures
out," City Administrator Kevin Frazell 'garage. of people another-asking the'city to hold signatures '
'said Friday. "But we'd use the proceeds.. "We've found other ways to deal with bond issue referendum,just for the recre-
,to pay for development of an 80-acre some of these needs without having to ation projects," Frazell said. "The City
athletic fields complex, for•more trails ' get voter approval," Frazell said.- • --. ,..Council decided it-was worth a try be- :,
and for neighborhood parks-improve- The city will tap into cash reserves for cause the association's members will be '•
merits." ' •,$700,000 to pay for sprucing up City Hall. out there vigorously,promoting the is
,The:council has yet to choose a date •,: "There Won't be any expansion," Fn.: sue."
Lakevifie .sets ... . ..
;Two- community parks would be ac-`;-
• n y l�
quired for preservation in their natural
par
(' �'' e1'�"1 setting and.would feature picnic sites
+.� 111 A 12-acre community park would be
- acquired in the west Lake Marion area.•
voteJij.rie (�28 and a 40-acre community park is slated
V for the northeast part of Lakeville. To-
gether, the parks would cost $580,000.
BILL GARDNER STAFF WRITER The city also proposes to build four.
new 10-acre neighborhood 'parks : that
Lakeville residents will vote June 28 , would have both hockey and ice-skating'..
whether ll spend $3.6 million to build 28 rinks, playgrounds, baseball• fields and
new ahtotic complex and four new I basketball courts. Those parks would be
neighborhood parks and make numerous
in the west Orchard Lake, Cherry rook
improvements to other parks and trail neighborhoods.Estates and Meadow Brook
systems in the city. neighborhoods.•It
systems
be the
first parks bond referen- Park' enhancements• of $30,000 each
dum in will Lakeville first parks rks when voters are slated for Meadows and Rolling Oaks
approved $1.7 million. Lakeville has neighborhood parks, which would get .
grown. from$1.7
on. L in 1986 has hockey rinks. Casperson and Antlers
grown and is 19,000
second-fastest in growing Park also would get improvements, and
g g Ritter Farm Park would get a $50 000
city in the Twin Cities metropolitan area - ,
shelter along with additional prairie de-
A city task force studying the park velopment and habitat reforestation.
system since-January made its recom- Also planned: a major enhancement of
•mendations at the last City Council meet- Valley Lake Community Park, 3.5 addi-
ing. tional miles of trails in the city, and
The referendum would add about $24 a improved compliance' with the Ameri- •
.,1111 home in property taxes for a $100,000 cans with Disabilities Act. .,
home over the 20-year period of the �-
bonds. j
Approximately 25 percent of,the mon- ( ,
ey, or $876,700, would go for.a new 50 •
acre youth and athletic 'complex that '
-would feature four softball fields, two
`soccer fields and parking for 120 cars.:-
The precise location of the complex'has`'
- not been selected.. - .
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• Eden Prairie grows wild over land deal
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City votes 2,071 -366 to keep 96 acres au naturel
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By Duchesne Paul Drew the city. The City Council will issue Eden Prairie Parks Commissioner ,-.,
Staff Writer $1.95 million in bonds and pay about Bob Lambert spent much of the past •a: ,
$20,000 per acre. two years working on the land acqui- '•
Eden Prairie residents voted over- sition project. He was among the
whelmingly Tuesday to leave two The sites are among the few remain- weary yet happy yesterday when the : L-
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parcels of land just as nature made ing undeveloped sections of the city. votes were counted.
them--•undeveloped. The first parcel is 56 acres of native
prairie and oak savannah;the second He said the land, except for periodic -,
The vote was 2,071 to 366 in favor of is 40 acres of the Big Woods, the prairie burning and a few nature •":. I
a city plan to buy and preserve 96 native hardwood forest that once • I
acres in the southwestern section of covered much of the city. Eden Prairie continued on page 5B
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Eden Prairie/. Proposed preservation areas .
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The land will
7-....-ig ,,, LaStakreing
remain virtually ----- O Riley Creek
untouched Riley
Creek.6 Charlson Prairie
' cc cc Bluff site .1°C Cith:1 -1&-.--;-R
,
• Continued from page 1B ' A •
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tfiNt-t-
trails, will remain virtually un- a.
umbull c . F7F,
touched. Picnicking and camping Rd. .8 4 ,,;''.i
won't be allowed. "We will manage I" V
these properties to pres re-
erve the -------------_ __________________k -1:'-'•-•!-- -1=-0—'1' '''''''''- ••
sources that make.them valuable to ,e'i.:"~-:;.ir,1:''',1•
us,"he said. L'„•.- ,;:::i..7••' -;
Lambert was disappointed when he Star Tribune Map
learned that the city would not re- • ,•
ceive matching funds from the Legis- Carver County. But the city would Betty McMahon, president of Eden '
lative Commission on Minnesota continue to look at ways to buy that Prairie's Land Trust, said her group
Resources if the bonding were ap- land,Lambert said, might assist neighboring communi-
proved. . ties in preserving some of their{nide-
.
Eden Prairie's land preservation ef- veloped land. - -
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The matching funds would have al- fort dates to the 1960s and is part of ,
lowed the city to buy and preserve a nationwide movement to maintain "I think that Eden Prairie could be a
third parcel of land, a 130-acre site land in its natural condition, model for other communities," she
on the Minnesota River bluffs near
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