03/07/2011 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Issue: Lino Lakes has owned a 72 acre parcel of land that was purchased to be park area. The land has been sitting idle at the taxpayer's expense for over a decade. The land is rented out, but for a fraction of the debt service it costs the city every year. A park proposal totally nearly $9.5 million was presented to taxpayers in 2002 and defeated. I don't believe the taxpayers taste for higher taxes will change anytime soon. Being a Charter City, the only traditional way the park will be funded is with a city wide referendum, which is highly unlikely. Strategy: It was a wonderful vision of a previous city council and staff to see the need for a future park and set aside the land. It would be tragic for the city to sell the land and never realize the vision. It is even more tragic for the city to sit on the land losing revenue and paying an interfund loan each year with no benefit for the residents. It is clear the city cannot afford a $9.5 million park, but it is clear that the city should open the land for use by residents. The solution may be some untraditional ideas about parks, untraditional uses and finding untraditional revenue sources to build and maintain parks in the future. Here are some of those ideas; • Proposing a low environment impact park, using the natural terrain to our cost advantage. • Establish "friend of the park" groups for each of the various uses • Find business sponsorship to build and maintain the different park uses • Keep the construction within the tradition of Lino Lakes, with reasonable not expensive structures, family orientated, animal friendly spaces and lots of open spaces. This park does not have to have big pavilions, permanent rest rooms, stadium seating, and paved parking lots. Those could be added in the future as revenue sources appear. • Involve all the city boards, Park, Environmental, P &Z, and EDAC. • Involve our local businesses, churches, schools and volunteer groups. Business Sponsor examples (none have been contacted, purely hypothetical) • Target Field — baseball diamonds • Medtronic Soccer Field • PetSmart Dog Park • Life Time Fitness Trail • Menards Playground • 3M Skate Park • Gander Mountain Cross Country Ski Trail • Eric's Bike Trail • Horticultural Society Nature Walk To keep it family friendly, sponsors would be limited to businesses whose products could be purchased by minors.