2001 September Newsletter - Laserfiche WebLink

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HUGO RECEIVES TOWN MEETING TO GRANT FOR DISCUSS FUTURE OF HUGO'S FUTURE PARK RURAL AREA The City of Hugo was successful in A Town Meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m. at the acquiring a $305,000 grant from the Hugo City Hall to begin to discuss the future of the eastern side of the City of Minnesota Department of Natural Hugo. In attendance will be the City's Planning Commission and the City Resources (DNR) to assist in the Council, and the public is encouraged to attend. purchase of the Bernin property,a 21- "What we're essentially looking at is how to best preserve the rural character of the acre site located on Oneka Lake. east side of the city," states Community Development Director John Rask. He Currently a Christmas tree farm goes on to explain that there are a variety of ways to do this. One way would be owned and operated by the Bernins, with "cluster housing," which involves allowing homes to be placed closer the property has approximately 1500 together on smaller lots, but requiring a certain amount of open space surround- feet of shoreline and is adjacent to the ing them. Another option would be to re-examine minimum development DNR boat access on Oneka Lake. standards in terms of lot sizes and road frontage requirements. The City's future plans for this land One more possibility for preserving the rural character is through the purchase of are to establish a natural park-like development rights. With this option, a governmental agency or some setting, with a small picnic area, and conservation organization could essentially purchase easements over a given such features as play equipment for property in order to maintain it permanently as an open space. children, barbecue pits, and a fishing Both Rask and City Administrator Mike Ericson are encouraging the citizens of pier. It would also provide public Hugo to attend the meeting and offer their opinions on this issue. "We want to access to Oneka Lake and allow for do this right," Ericson says, "by taking the time and getting citizens involved."The expansion of the DNR boat access Metropolitan Council will also be hosting a similar discussion on the future of the facility. rural metropolitan area on September 20, at Hooley Hall at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Baytown, MN from 6-9 pm. Call 651-602-1844 to reserve Community Development Director a place at this meeting. John Rask reports that the City is currently in negotiations to purchase this property and expects that it will REMEMBER TO RECYCLE! be acquired by the end of the year. It Did you know that recycling afour-foot stack of newspaper saves one mature is anticipated that the grant will cover approximately half of the cost, with tree from being harvested? And one family's yearly supply of daily newspa- pers can be recycled into almost enough insulation for one house. In Hugo, the balance coming from the City's park fund—a special fund set aside by items for recycling are collected curbside as part of your weekly trash collec- tion. A recycling container is available from your garbage hauler or by call- the City for park development. Rask ing City Hall at (651) 429-6676. explained that when developers Those items which can be recycled include newspapers, aluminum beverage sub-divide property in Hugo, $1350 cans, tin cans,glass jars and bottles, corrugated cardboard,glossy magazines, is paid into this park fund for each junk mail, boxboard(such as cereal boxes), #1 and#2 plastic bottles, and car new home site. and tractor batteries.