Agenda - Council - 06/24/1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

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15 Hinutes CASE ~3: REVIE~ OF STATUS FOR MISSISSIPPI RIYZR COUNTY/RECIONAL PAR~ By: Dave Hartley, City Administrator Background: At the City Council's last regular meeting, we received information about a proposed expansion of the Mississippi River County Park into a regional park facility. Based upon the information at the time, it appeared as though the park would remove a substantial amount of commercial and possibly residential land from the City of Kamsey. Consequently, the City Council requested that a letter be sent to the County of Anoka Parks Department expressing the City Council's concerns about this expansion. That letter was sent to Mr. David Torkildson, Director of Anoka County Parks and Recreation. After receiving the City of Ramsey's letter expressing concern over the loss of commercial lands, Mr. Torkildson and Commissioner Natalie Haas contacted me advising that it is not the County's 'intention to use the commercial property for park land, but rather return that portion of the land to the open market. On June 16, 1986, Councilmember Cox and I met with Commissioner Haas and Mr. Torkildson to review some of these concerns. During that meeting we agreed that it would be best to have Commissioner Haas and Mr. Torkildson present to the City Council the proposed expansion plans of Anoka County for the Mississippi River Park. Observations: I still have some concerns over the impact (both favorable and negative) of the proposed expansion of the Mississippi River Park. The City Council should be interested in the specifics relating to the remarketing of commercial and residential land that is not needed for park purposes. Additionally, an agreement should be established relating to the acceptable apportionment of the cost of extending sanitary sewer, water, and storm sewer improvements into this area, Recommendation: The development of regional parks can be an asset to our community, provided that the cost of developing those parks is not so great that it outweighs the benefits. Anoka County is prepared to drop their efforts to develop a regional park facility in Ramsey if the City of Ramsey is in opposition to said development. Therefore, I believe the City Council should listen closely to the presentation of Mr. Torkildson and Commissioner Haas and attempt to determine whether or not the benefits of a regional park outweigh the costs. Review Checklist: Administrator X Attorney __ Engineer Community Development Dir. X Chief of Police Finance Officer Public Works Superintendent ., Other