Dear Friends of Eagan's Open Space,

The following message contains three important announcements regarding Eagan's threatened Open Space and what you can do to help preserve it.

(1) The City's Parks & Recreation Department is currently soliciting citizen input for the future of Eagan's Parks, including the value you place on Open Space (via their 15-year plan: "20/20 Vision"). If you missed either of the two public forums that sought citizen input, you can still participate by filling out a one page survey and mail it in.

A copy of the survey is available on our Web site (www.EaganCoreGreenway.org -- see left-hand column, under "Eagan Parks Survey"). This is an excellent way in which Friends of Eagan's Open Space can make their sentiments known. Note that the first section of the survey lists many sporting activities, but doesn't explicitly list "Open Space." If this is one of your priorities, you can add "Open Space" to the end of the list, by writing it in under "Other." It will take you no more than five minutes to complete the survey. Please make your views known before April 30th! [The .pdf file is large, and may take some time to download if you have a dial-up line.]

(2) The City of Eagan is currently accepting applications for seats on its Advisory Parks and Advisory Planning Commissions. Applications will be accepted through March 18th (2005), and new appointments made in early April. Such participation represents an excellent way to support Open Space preservation in the light of increasingly controversial development proposals on sensitive parcels. You can inquire about these openings by contacting City Hall: 651-675-5000.

(3) The Friends of the Eagan Core Greenway Board is currently exploring the prospects for holding a benefit concert later this year for the McCarthy Farm (including entertainment and a silent auction). We have begun to form sub-committees and have identified core needs in the areas of (a) events planning and (b) finance. To determine what expertise exists among our members, we may be performing some phone banking over the next two weeks, so you may receive a call from one of our Board members. Alternatively, if you have a skill that would be useful for such a project, and could volunteer some time, please don't hesitate contacting John Ward (688-0451) or Jack Conrad (683-9380). Thank you!

---Jack C.

www.EaganCoreGreenway.org