Welcome to Friends of Henry Park

Friends Hold Celebration

Saturday, 21 October 2006 marked a special day for the Friends of Henry Park. A long battle was was finally won to preserve another link in the long chain of parkland that follows the Mississippi river corridor. Henry Park, located at 2120 Skyway Drive in Saint Paul is officially part of the Minnesota Great River National Park. Over the years, the land has come perilously close to being developed. Recently, the Arlington, Va.-based Conservation Fund, which has a special account funded in part by the McKnight Foundation for land near the Mississippi River, stepped in and bought the property. It will then be sold to the city.

Photo Gallery

	A group of 35 Friends of Henry Park gathered for a dedication and short presentation on October 21 at the edge of the property now known as Henry Park.
	Cake, chili and hot apple cider were served as part of the celebration.
	Tom Dimond, a Highwood resident and former City Council member who has long fought to save the park and Tom Duffus, the group's state director for Minnesota and Wisconsin Conservation Fund discuss future plans for the site.
	Angel, a resident of the area, joined in the festivities and expressed her happiness for having a new place to explore.
	Senator Mee Moua, who was instrumental in getting support for the park, speaks to the group.
	Representative Sheldon Johnson praises the group of all its efforts.

Mayor Supports Direct Acquisition of Henry Park

The effort to protect environmentally sensitive blufflands in the Mississippi River Corridor continues. Mayor Kelly has decided to skip the interim funding process. The Mayor said he would work to see if the City could contribute more than the $113,000 of permanent funding that the Council has already committed. He also authorized City Parks staff to work on grants and appropriations so the City can directly acquire the property without interim funding.

The Highwood Plan and Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan call for the protection of the bluffs. Henry Park is a priority acquisition in the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan.

Henry Park is threatened by development. To prevent destruction and loss of this valuable asset, interim funding has been assembled. This would assure protection of the property while permanent funding is acquired through grants and appropriations. The City Council and County Board both unanimously agreed to provide funding. The Mayor decided that direct acquisition without the interim funding was the best course of action.

The Mayor's actions add urgency to the effort to secure permanent financing. The City of St. Paul and Friends of Henry Park have applied for funding from several sources. With the greater urgency, we will be working hard to secure funding from the State Legislature. Representative Sheldon Johnson is authoring legislation that would provide funding for Henry Park and additional acquisitions in the river corridor. Fortunately this is the bonding year for the Legislature. Governor Pawlenty has established protecting environmental sensitive lands in our river corridors as his number one environmental priority.

We will be taking a two-track approach in the coming year. We will work to protect the property from the bulldozers by ensuring that the Saint Paul Comprehensive Plan, Zoning Code and Highwood Plan are not deviated from. We will also be working to put in place the permanent funding.

There is a lot of work to be done. The National Park Service, Minnesota DNR, Mississippi River Parkway Commission, Audubon and Sierra Club are a few of the organizations assisting in the effort. Congresswoman Betty McCollum, County Board Chair Jim McDonough, Councilmember Kathy Lantry and Representative Sheldon Johnson are working long and hard to make this happen. With the broad coalition working together, we can protect this valuable community asset for future generations to enjoy.

The City has agreed to providing $113,000 in permanent funding. Also, $3,000 in individual contributions have been raised. The City approved a TEA 21 application and it has been qualified for funding on a unanimous vote of their board. It still has to be ranked. The application is for $1,000,000.

The City and Friends of Henry Park jointly applied for funding from Metro Greenways. That application is for $200,000. Kate Hanson, with the National Park Service, and Congresswoman Betty McCollum's office are working with us on a grant for $100,000 from the National Parks Trust. We will be applying for funding from the DNR Scenic and Natural Areas Program in March. We have made great progress in just two months.

We have received support from the National Park Service, Minnesota DNR, Metro Greenways, Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, Ramsey Soil and Water Conservation District, District 1 Community Council, Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota, Audubon, Audubon Minnesota, MECCA, The Conservation Fund, Friends of the Mississippi River, 1000 Friends of Minnesota, Friends of the Parks and Trails, Great River Greening, Sierra Club, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

We are thankful to all the groups who are willing to play a role in this important effort to preserve the Mississippi River Bluffs in our National Park along the Great River Road Scenic Byway.

Friends of Henry Park Gets Deadline Extension
We are still in the game. As of Monday, October 27, the following events have taken place:

The city council voted 6-0 to approve Henry Park and approved a bridge loan of $350,000 and a $113,000 grant.

Mayor Randy Kelly has gone on record that he will support and implement the resolution.

Jim Johnson, the representative from Lyman Development has given the Henry Park group an addition four weeks to finalize the deal. The new closing date is November 21.

Jim Johnson (Lyman Development) has also committed to deferring $250,000 of the purchase price.

We still have plenty of work to be done including raising an additional $2,000 for the required appraisal of the property.

Friends of Henry Park Nearly at Goal

The deadline for closing on the Henry Park property is fast approaching. The developer of the property, Lyman Development Companies, has given Friends of Henry Park until November 21st to put together a funding package that will make the city of St. Paul the ultimate owner of the property.
Renay Leone at The Conservation Fund and Dorian Grilley at The Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota, have put together a deal with The City of St. Paul and Ramsey County. The Conservation Fund will provide $400,000, Parks and Trails Council $200,000, Nature Conservancy $200,000 and the City and County each $350,000 in bridge loans.

The City has agreed to providing $113,000 in permanent funding. Also, $3,000 in individual contributions have been raised. The City approved a TEA 21 application and it has been qualified for funding on a unanimous vote of their board. It still has to be ranked. The application is for $1,000,000.
The City and Friends of Henry Park jointly applied for funding from Metro Greenways. That application is for $200,000. Kate Hanson, with the National Park Service, and Congresswoman Betty McCollum's office are working with us on a grant for $100,000 from the National Parks Trust. We will be applying for funding from the DNR Scenic and Natural Areas Program in March. We have made great progress in just two months.
We have received support from the National Park Service, Minnesota DNR, Metro Greenways, Ramsey-Washington Metro Watershed District, Ramsey Soil and Water Conservation District, District 1 Community Council, Parks and Trails Council of Minnesota, Audubon, Audubon Minnesota, MECCA, The Conservation Fund, Friends of the Mississippi River, 1000 Friends of Minnesota, Friends of the Parks and Trails, Great River Greening, Sierra Club, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
We are thankful to all the groups who are willing to play a role in this important effort to preserve the Mississippi River Bluffs in our National Park along the Great River Road Scenic Byway.
DEVELOPER WILLING TO SELL
The developer met with representatives from Friends Of Henry Park late in July. He is willing to give the group (or a proxy) a chance to buy the land for $1.75 million. The developer wants a letter of intent by August 7 that outlines how the group intends to round up the funds. He has scheduled a closing on the property within 90 days which means the group has that amount of time to get all the funding parties on board.
FRIENDS OF HENRY PARK POSITION STATEMENT
We ask that the District One Community Council recommend to the City of St. Paul that it adopt a six month moratorium on any action relative to the approval or denial of a preliminary or final plat, or any other permits requested for development of the property, Henry Park. We request this moratorium for the following reasons:

This property is within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area within the local area known as the South Highwood Neighborhood, and within the St Paul River Corridor. All of these designations support protection of steep slopes, the protection and restoration of parks and open space, use of any platted but non-constructed streets for trails and open space, and the protection of wooded areas and wildlife habitat. (See attached sections from these plans.) A moratorium on development will allow the City to fully assess the impacts of this proposal on these designations.
This property contains large areas of steep slopes (over 18%), is in the river corridor, is adjacent to other parcels already designated as open space along the bluff, is close to the Pigs Eye Lake area of the Battle Creek Regional Park, and is largely undeveloped wildlife habitat. We support the use of the land for park and open space as its highest and best use and a much-preferred use over development for residential housing. A moratorium on development will allow the City to evaluate both the environmental and economic impacts of development versus retention for park and open space.
The issues surrounding this development are complex and the neighborhood has had no opportunity to raise funds to acquire the property for park and open space, although such funds are available. A moratorium would allow the community to have reasonable time to seek private and/or public funds to acquire this property for use as park and open space into perpetuity. Such an acquisition would still provide economic benefits to the landowner, but the final use of the land, as park and open space, could save the city infrastructure costs and such a use would retain the natural character of the property consistent with river corridor and Mississippi National River and Recreation Area standards.

We believe a moratorium on development is in the best interests of the State, the City, District One and the neighborhood. A final decision about the long term use of this property will have a permanent impact. Taking time to allow the community to seek private and/or public funds for acquisition, and permitting residents to evaluate both development and non-development alternatives, is a fair and prudent request for all.
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