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Home My WebLink AboutProposal for Nature Center - Tony ManzaraProposal: City of Lake Elmo Nature Center at Sunfish Lake Park Presented by Tony Manzara 5050 Kirkwood Ave N, Lake Elmo 651-439-0389 1 Basic Idea: private-public partnership Private fundraising to plan and construct a Nature Center building in Lake Elmo’s Sunfish Lake Park Transfer to City ownership when complete City Parks Budget would be responsible for future Utilities Maintenance Security Private fundraising for endowment for some operations Naturalist salary Recruitment and training of docents Upgrade/renewal of trail signs Identification and marking of trees and other features 2 Benefits Brings us together to build community spirit Provides nature interpretation and education opportunities Encourages higher utilization of one of Lake Elmo’s jewels Affords opportunities for naturalist, and volunteer docents Offers a possible connection to ISD 834 for nature education Serves as a memorial to the late Sally Manzara 3 Encouraging Community Involvement Opportunity for volunteer docents to lead tours of the Nature Center exhibits and walks on the trails, perhaps on a regular basis Elementary School natural science class location? High School Science Project location (with volunteer mentors)? 4H classes could use the space? Bird counts and flower discovery days Trail grooming and litter pick-up (not much litter now!) Possible use of the exhibit room for meetings Trail webcams to watch for animal activity Volksmarch starting line Bike trail waypoint 4 5 Maps and sketches Nature Center 6 7 Roof area (solar panels?) 8 9 North Is up 10 11 Building features Modern energy-efficient low-maintenance design ICF walls, Metal siding, Spancrete roof with solar panel overlay Large Exhibit Area for photographs and specimens Small Classroom & Project Area / Naturalist’s office Small Gift Shop to help with fundraising Possible meeting space in exhibit area Storage space for some equipment on lower level “walk-out” South-facing roof for solar panel efficiency Passive-solar eaves and windows on south exposure Small windows on north exposure Possible mezzanine level along north wall for gallery or ? space 12 Utility considerations Geothermal heat pump for HVAC, plenty of space for ground loop Electrical power – how far to run? Solar roof panels to power lights and heat pump on sunny days Sell power to grid when it is not needed Water supply from well or main? Sewer Connection or septic system on-site? Security cameras inside and outside 13 Funding mechanism (draft) Establish 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization e.g. “Friends of Lake Elmo Nature Center” to accept tax-deductible donations. Name a Board of Directors to oversee fundraising and operations I would contribute about $125 K (from IRA if tax deductible) as the source of 100% matching funds to other donor’s contributions The organization would start a campaign to collect matching donations from local residents and businesses Many Baby Boomer retirees will face mandatory minimum withdrawals from IRA’s and 401(k) investments at age 70.5, in most years a charitable contribution is considered part of MRW and is untaxed 14 Funding mechanism (draft) Local businesses could contribute cash, services or materials Annual fundraising would be done to build up endowment fund Gift Shop operation with profits to the endowment fund For Example, Photo Contest (taken at Sunfish Lake Park) with rights to photos to go to gift shop to sell prints Local arts and crafts could be sold on consignment to profit the fund Building might cost $250K Endowment fund might be targeted at $100K 15 Action so far - Talked with Todd Williams, he liked this idea, said that Lake Elmo Parks commission was the place to start, suggested Shane Weis Talked with Kyle Klatt 3/16, he suggested meeting with Alyssa MacLeod Met with Alyssa on 3/23 – she said that there was a hope that such a project could be done, it fit with the strategic plan for parks development Scheduled a meeting with Dave Magnuson (City Attorney of Stillwater, my personal attorney and friend) to discuss this sort of partnership Talked with Shane Weis 3/26, he liked it, talked of bike trail proposal which might also use a NPO funding scheme. Planning for some enhancement of Sunfish Lake Park is part of LE Park Commission one-year plan Sent draft of this presentation to Alyssa and Shane 3/26 for comments 16 Next Steps Request 15 minutes at Parks Commission Meeting at 6:30 PM May 18th at Lake Elmo City Hall to give this presentation 17