Agenda Packets - 1999/04/05 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Larry&Vicki Rothstein 5086 Rainbow Lane Mounds View,MN 55112 612-785-2307 3/30/99 To Chuck Whiting,Mounds View City Administrator Dan Coughlin,Mayor City Council Members Dear Mr. Whiting,Mr. Mayor, and members of the City Council: As I sit and watch the replay of the March 22nd council meeting, I am pleased to hear that something is finally going to be done about Woodcrest park. I have been a resident of Mounds View for 12 years and Woodcrest has been our local park. Both of my children(ages 8 & 12) have enjoyed this park very much. It has never been a fancy park,but it does provide the open space necessary for children to run without worry of running into the streets. For years this park has suffered from neglect and I am happy to see that it is now getting some attention, however negative that may be. Like I have stated,this park has been our family park. There are signs in the park that this park has been important to other families also. A tree near the building was planted in memory of the family destroyed by the pipeline explosion. There is a plaque to remind visitors of this. There is another plaque in the southwest corner near the intersection of Woodcrest and Silver Lake Road dedicating the hockey rink to the memory of two local children. Obviously,this park has meant a great deal to more than just my family. I had inquired with Mary Saarion several times through the years as to what could be done to improve this park. I got a lot of words, but never any action. I know Mary tried but was always timed away because of the poor soil conditions and excessive cost. However, I think she may have been trying to do too much for the park. I have resigned myself to the fact that there will never be a baseball field or soccer field, but there can be much more to park than just sports. Over the last several years several scouting troops have tried to make this park their home. From 1994 to 1996 my wife and her Girl Scout troop officially adopted this park and cleaned it at each meeting of the troop. Last year my son's Cub Scout den had all their regular meeting at this park. The boys definitely preferred this park over the "Barney Park" (Random Park)because of more space and larger playground equipment. Another den of Cub Scouts made bird houses and placed them around the park near the water area. This is a great park for a nature search, and I know many scouts that would agree. It is unfortunate that the city has let the building become unusable.