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Mounds View EDA April 25, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 8 whereas Medtronic would employ the same people regardless of their location. 297 Dave Mitchell, 5493 Quincy Street, stated that he has lived in this area all of his life and likes 298 where The Bridges is located. He stated that it is not a Par 3 course but is one of the longer 299 courses in the metro area. He stated that he enjoys The Bridges due to the length of the course. 300 He acknowledged that the project would bring some revenue to the City adding that it would also 301 bring an increase in traffic. He expressed concerns about the amount of traffic this project could 302 generate noting that for a company of this size, there a many nice locations along the highway 303 that are already vacant and available for purchase. He expressed frustrations stating that it was 304 his thought that the City wanted green space and it appears that with this project they are now 305 getting rid of it. He encouraged the Commissioners to consider the value of open space adding 306 that he does not see this project creating any jobs specifically for Mounds View. He stated that 307 the park Medtronic proposes to develop appears to be for their employees and asked if the public 308 would be able to take advantage of the park too. He stated that access to the proposed park 309 would be difficult and encouraged the Commission to keep the golf course. He stated that he 310 couldn’t see giving away the store to one of the wealthiest companies in the country. 311 312 Shannon Meyer, 11363 ?? Lane, President of the Twin Cities Local Chamber of Commerce, 313 stated that the facts show that golf courses provide a quality of life not found anywhere else. She 314 stated that the State of Minnesota has one of highest number of golf courses, per capita, in the 315 nation noting that the supply of golf courses has been outpacing the demand for play and this 316 trend is expected to continue. She explained that the Twin Cities North Chamber collected 317 information on the courses in the north metro and found, over a five-year period, that the number 318 of rounds played has declined by 19.5-percent, on average. She noted that The Bridges is 50% 319 more, on an average; over the other courses adding that part of the information shows that 27-320 percent of the golfers come from Mounds View. She stated that there are enough golf courses 321 throughout the metro area that address all golfing needs noting that the National Sports Center 322 recently built a youth golf course and experienced a total of 7800 participants last year, with 67-323 percent of that total being youth golfers. She provided the Commission with a brief overview of 324 the curriculum. 325 326 Dick Timmer stated that his daughter, Katie Timmer, is a special Olympian. He stated that his 327 daughter, along with friend Mike Madden of St. Anthony Village, have found a true home at The 328 Bridges. He stated that the golfing community at the Bridges has been very good to both Katie 329 and Mike noting that they are both State Champions in the State’s Top Division. He explained 330 that they have both practiced at The Bridges for the past four years noting that some things are 331 priceless and it is his belief that The Bridges is one of those things. He urged the Commission to 332 keep the golf course noting that the environment has always been a very welcoming to them. 333 334 Katie Timmer stated that she The Bridges is a huge part of her life and relationship for her and 335 her father. She stated that there is a really great guy at The Bridges that always makes if fun for 336 her to golf and practice. She stated that golf is a good, but difficult sport adding that she does not 337 want to see The Bridges leave because she loves to golf. 338