Star Tribune Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:01:11 GMT
Two Scott County Parks waiting to happen
Looking to expand its park holdings, Scott County hopes to accelerate plans to open up two parcels of land. "ENTRY PROHIBITED," the sign along a highway in southern Scott County declares. "Not open to public use at this time." Mark Themig would love to pull it down -- the sooner the better. The sign and a locked gate bar anyone from venturing onto land that has been designated as one of the "Last Best Places" in the Twin Cities area. A gracefully sloping parcel that ends along the edge of a prime recreational lake, it's the centerpiece of what is intended, some day, to be a 300-acre regional park -- a destination for people throughout the county and beyond. The county acquired it in 2006, before Themig, the county's new parks program manager, was even hired. But it is five miles from New Prague, far from the main body of suburban growth. And the Metropolitan Council, which oversees the regional parks system, has had it listed for full development -- a process that costs millions of dollars -- sometime after the year 2030. The sign, however, may come down a lot sooner than that--possibly next year. The county is exploring ways to finance public access to the property, known as Cedar Lake Farm, and to another parcel of similar size in Prior Lake. "We own all this land that isn't doing anything," Themig says as he drives through the property, gesturing toward the lake. Members of the county board agree, though the board's chairman, Bob Vogel, puts the point a little differently. "We've been buying things we didn't know how to fund," he said. "I opposed the Cedar Lake acquisition: We had no operating budget, yet here we were, acquiring land."
[[keywords: LandUse;Parks;Metro;]]
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