COMMISSION_MINUTES_1979-10-25 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

h�MO T0: City Council and Fbun 'i �& Recreation Coimnissioners mn FROM: Bruce K. Anderson, Par at on & Forestry Director DATE: OcWber 17, 1979 RE: Staff's Reflections of the City Park System As we begin the long and lengthy process of developing the Comprehensive Parks and Open Space System for the residents of Mounds View> I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on � professional recomnendations as to how I envision the devetopment of the park system during the next five to ten years. Two favorite quotes come to mind, the first being: 1. "If a man does not know to which poCt he is sailing, no wind is favorable", SOCRATES. 2. "It is the duty of a Park Commssion to open the way to new, not to follaw old customs; to lead public opinion and nat to tag after it. If it is not prepared to move in advance of the peopte of whose interest it is placed in charge, nothing is more certain . than that after a few years its labors will be regarded very ungratefully and the question will often be asked, "Why could they not have showed a litt7e more foresight and got a little more out of the inherited ruts2" FREDERICK LAW OL�STED. The signiflcance of both these quotes 1s approprlate for any generation as they keynote the responsib111ty whlch public agencles have ta engender the we11 betng of soctety. Foresightness and willtngness to keep pace with the times are essentiel attributes whlch the Park Commission and City Council must possess � if they are to properly guide the development of the Mounds V1ew Parks and � Recreatlon System. In � opinton, the hbunds View Park System is currently on the threshold of determining some major planning objectives which will effect the future of the park system, indeflnitely. My rationale for feeling this strongly is that: 1. Contlnued inflation will make 1t lncreasingly difficult to develop and metntatn a park system of any level in the next ten years. 2. Stete and Federel funds for park ecquisition and development were reduced by 66% for 1981 and 1 envision this trend W continue in future years. 3. The t1�m for estabitshing a good basls of community suppart and lnvolve- �rent is at an all time high 1n Mounds V1ew because of the current