Feedback Forms - COMPLETED January 24, 2008 Meeting

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Comments on the Long Term Plan for the Greenfield Parkland Area January 24, 2008 I am Tom Kosel, residing at 8120 Jackson Drive, directly across the street from the far NW end of the area under discussion tonight. Having already participated in several meetings related to the use of this area, I commend the members of the Commission for your previous decision to table consideration of putting a disc golf course there. I believe your main reason may have been the cost of such a project, given the fact that it would have been somewhere in the vicinity of $50-60,000. My main concern was the affect such a course would have on the natural state of the area, and on the wide variety of animals that pass through and/or live there. The suggestions I offer tonight are the following: 1- Keep, improve, and then properly maintain the current walking path through the area. A well- maintained walking path, with sturdy bridges over the creek, would more likely be used by people of all ages, all the way from children to seniors. This may or may not require paving the trail, depending on the cost, and on the ability of an unpaved trail to stili accommodate all residents, such as those with handicaps. Furthermore, I believe an improved path would be more inviting to all residents of Mounds View, not just those who happen to live nearby. Citizens from the whole city, who may be looking for a pleasant walk through a natural area, could park their cars in the lot by the baseball field. Only during baseball games is that lot ever crowded. 2- Enlist the help of the Scouts and/or other community groups to help keep the entire Greenfield area clear of deadfall, debris and other discarded materials. This would not only keep the whole Greenfield area clean and neat, it would give these groups a community project to work on, and would also be more cost-effective for the city work -crews to not need to spend as much time with such tasks. It might also make it possible for them to spend more time maintaining the current disc -golf course at Silverview. 3- Invite schools to use the trail as an educational experience, where students could see native plants (some which are already present, and others which could be planted), and maybe even see some wildlife. And 4- Refrain from any further development or intrusion into the natural, wooded or wetland sections of the area. This would honor what I and many other nearby residents had been told has been the long-standing intention of the city, namely, to keep this area as undeveloped. In other words, let's keep the area as natural as possible by staying away from disc golf, or regional ponding, or excavation for berms, or any additional trailways, or anything else that could have negative impact on the current, natural habitat and environment. Thank. you.