PRESS RELEASE
| FROM: | Friends of Patrick Eagan Park | | CONTACT PERSON: | Wayne Sames (Minnesota DNR) |
| TO: | Twin Cities Press Associates | | TELEPHONE: | 651-296-1567 |
| DATE: | Monday, July 21, 2003 | | E-MAIL ADDRESS: | wayne.sames@dnr.state.mn.us |
| SUBJECT: | DNR's Natural and Scenic Area Grant Program Recommends nearly $350,000 Award for Eagan's Anderson Parcel |
Last month the Minnesota DNR's Natural and Scenic Area Grant Program representative, Wayne Sames, recommended to the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMR) a funding level of $350,000."
At their June 25th meeting, the LCMR approved a funding level of $349,703.
Other details of the grant:
- "This is one of the largest grants ever made by the program," said Sames, when informing Friends of Patrick Eagan Park of the award.
- Minnesota's DNR has now earmarked just under half of the appraised value of the Anderson parcel ($100,000 from the Metro Greenways program and $349,703 from the Natural and Scenic Area grants).
- Based on a legislative mandate on dispersal of greenway funds, the grant will be earmarked for the first fiscal year (July 1, 2003--June 30th, 2004) rather than the second.
- The City of Eagan now has commitments for nearly two-thirds of the property value (which was appraised at $900,000 earlier this year), since the City itself is committed to contribute at least $180,000 to the project [Background Story].
- The Trust for Public Land, a key partner in the project, will subsequently work with the Andersons to submit an application to Dakota County's Farmland and Natural Areas Project for much of the remainder of the value of the property.
- "The City of Eagan submitted a very competitive proposal for this project," commented Sames.
More information about the Eagan Core Greenway and Friends of Patrick Eagan Park can be found on the group's Web site: www.friendsofpatrickeaganpark.org.