Recommendations to Gov. Mark Dayton developed by the consensus of three leading Minnesota parks and trails providers on spending of Parks and Trails Legacy Funds is considered “continued progress” by a Minnesota Rural Counties Caucus official.
The recommendations were developed as an interim agreement by a work group suggested by the Legislature as a way to guide investments into Minnesota’s parks and trails.
The recommendations, which help to resolve a much debated issue at the Capitol, are part of an interim agreement for fiscal years 2014-19. The work group was made up of nine representatives from metropolitan regional parks and trails appointed by the Metropolitan Council, the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coalition, and DNR.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Landwehr, Metropolitan Council Chair Susan Haigh, and Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coalition Chairman Al Lieffort submitted the recommendations to Dayton, asking him to include them in his proposed biennial budget to the Legislature early next year.
At the October annual MRCC meeting held at Island View, members voiced frustration and concern about the current funding formula, which divided most of the money between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and metropolitan regional parks and trail providers. Greater Minnesota parks and trails competed for Legacy Funds within the DNR’s share.
The recommendations call for 40 percent to each the DNR and metropolitan regional park and trail providers, with 20 percent for greater Minnesota regional park and trail providers.
In addition, the recommendations call for developing draft criteria and a process for future allocations, beyond the interim agreement.
Dan Larson, MRCC administrator, said Monday that MRCC participated in the process through the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coalition.
“We are aware of and support this outcome,” Larson told The Journal.
Prior to the agreement, metro parks and the DNR split 86 percent of the total Legacy Funds, said Larson, “while greater Minnesota wasn’t guaranteed a single nickel. This agreement changes things significantly.”
For Legacy funding for greater Minnesota “to go from zero to 20 percent dedicated funding is a significant step for us and a good step to allow us to build a plan that can justify the needs and future expenditures,” said Larson.
The change in funding dedication wasn’t easy, said Larson. “We had to claw our way up there, but we’re at a point where we are at least at the table with the other two entities and we will continue to make our case.”
The Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coalition, with participation by MRCC, will continue a planning process already begun that will provide a framework to establish greater Minnesota as the “third leg of a three-legged stool — the other two being the DNR and metro parks — of statewide participants for park and trail Legacy money,” said Larson.
Larson said he thinks of the interim agreement as “continued progress.”
Lieffort called the agreement a significant achievement for all Minnesotans.
“It honors the cooperative spirit of the original Legacy Amendment,” he said. “Members of the greater Minnesota coalition are committed to working with the governor and parks and trails leadership throughout Minnesota to encourage all parks and trails providers to get behind this consensus recommendation.”
Landwehr, in a statement about the agreement, said the recommendations came from consensus in a time when compromise can be difficult.
“The consensus of this group is a testament to how government should aspire to work — putting aside narrow interests and working together for the good of all Minnesotans and the quality of life we enjoy here,” the DNR commissioner said.
Haigh agreed, adding that “the consensus recommendation offers us a path forward, to build a better state and regional park and trail system throughout Minnesota. It moves us beyond what have been very challenging past discussions. This is a big win for all of Minnesota’s outdoors enthusiasts.”
The recommendations are rooted in the distribution of Minnesota’s population and the traditional role of Minnesota’s state and regional park and trail system, said a statement on the agreement. Environmental Initiative, a nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, was hired to facilitate the process.
The recommendations also include establishing a fund to encourage continued coordination among park and trail providers, and a five-year fund to support capacity building throughout Minnesota.
The Parks and Trails Legacy Fund supports state parks and trails and regional parks and trails in the seven-county metropolitan area and across Minnesota.
Activities include land acquisition, new development, connecting people to the outdoors, and taking care of existing park and trail infrastructure. The work group report can be downloaded from the Environmental Initiative website at www.environmental-initiative.org.
