Shannon Fiecke of the Shakopee Valley News reports:

More than a half-million dollars is headed for Scott County parks from the state’s new sales tax fund, but it won’t be enough to open the long idle Spring Lake Regional Park.

Instead, the county is opting to invest state dollars in the newly acquired Cedar Lake Farm in Helena Township and develop a strategy for acquiring land in the Blakeley Bluffs area.

With the cost of initial site preparation work alone at the undeveloped Spring Lake exceeding what the county expects to rake in from the constitutionally dedicated sales tax, Scott County Parks Manager Mark Themig said it made more sense to put the dollars toward Cedar Lake, which already has infrastructure in place.

“It has the potential to have the most significant return on investment,” Themig said. “There’s just not enough funding to do much of anything [at Spring Lake].”

Once the Legislature finally decided how to split up park and trail funding in the metro area, Scott County had little time to select projects, Themig said.

Another factor weighing in the decision to proceed at Cedar Lake was Spring Lake’s close proximity to two regional parks operated by Three Rivers Park District. Those are Cleary Lake and Murphy-Hanrehan, a largely undeveloped park reserve that is open for cross-country skiing and mountain biking.

The county has approximately 1,200 acres of its own land across three parks.

The county’s Doyle-Kennefick Regional Park will also continue to remain closed and undeveloped. Because of necessary land acquisition there, development would likely first occur at Spring Lake.

Because of fiscal constraints, the county quit putting additional funds away each year for the development of its park system. (The current park operation budget is $868,000, the majority which goes to Three Rivers for running Cleary Lake and Murphy-Hanrehan).

The county expects to receive $542,000 in 2010 and 2011 from the constitutional tax, out of a total of $65 million that is to be distributed statewide for parks and trails. Carver County will get about $90,000 less than Scott County, while others, such as Anoka and Ramsey, will receive more than $2 million each.

More than $1 billion is expected to be generated statewide in the next 25 years for parks and trails alone. The tax will also fund clean water, outdoor heritage and arts and culture initiatives.

HOW THE MONEY WILL BE SPENT

The county will form a master development plan for Cedar Lake before deciding what investments to make there. The formerly private day resort was opened to the public during weekends this summer in a public-private partnership with Lancer Catering, and the county wants to make that seven days next year.

Possible improvements to the regional park include stabilizing outbuildings, adding parking spaces and making the facility handicap-accessible, as well as extending trails.

The county budgeted $75,000 in amendment funding for planning and $392,000 for facility improvements at Cedar Lake.

The sales tax is also slated for other work:

- Developing a land acquisition plan for the Blakeley Bluffs area, the future home of the county’s fourth and final planned park. Without an acquisition plan ($50,000), the county can’t apply for outside funding to assemble land, Themig said.

- Furthering plans for a county trail system ($25,000)

PARK DEVELOPMENT

Said Themig of the initial sales tax revenue: “$542,000 is a lot of money, but it’s not a lot of money to do on-the- ground work, at least initially.”

The total cost of developing Spring Lake into a regional park with an off-leash dog park and other features is an estimated $6.3 million (in 2006 dollars).

After another year or two, Commissioner Jon Ulrich of Savage said he’d like the county to begin “chipping way” at park development, perhaps starting with just a trail at Spring Lake.

The county does plan to go after state bonding dollars for Spring Lake in 2010, which is part of the reason it backed away from using sales tax funding for the park, Themig said.

Perhaps a nature trail could be created at Spring Lake with the upcoming removal of buckthorn from the park, he said. That project is a partnership between the county and Great River Greening, a nonprofit ecological consulting firm.

Commissioner Jerry Hennen of Shakopee, the strongest park advocate on the board, thinks the county should be cautious in opening parks, making sure there is money to sustain long-term operations and maintenance.

The county’s park committee is sensitive to the present economy and isn’t pushing the opening of parks or expending a lot of money, he said.

“I think acquisition of land right now is our most important goal,” he said.

SALES TAX FUNDING FORMULA

The county favored a different allocation method for distributing parks and trails funding than what was ultimately adopted by the state Legislature.

Although it may not have generated more money for Scott County, Themig advocated spending metro-wide dollars on the most regionally significant projects, instead of dividing the dollars up per agency based up on an old allocation formula.

Counties can’t save the sales tax dollars until they have enough to take on a large project, Themig said, because of spending deadlines.

Although assembling land for a regional park at Lake Waconia would be a remarkable addition to the regional park system, it could take decades for Carver County to achieve such a large acquisition on its own if it relies on piecemeal funding, Themig said.

Likewise, phased development at Spring Lake could take a dozen years to complete, he said, which isn’t economically efficient.

Regional dollars were divided among park agencies based on population data, visitor counts and existing budgets. (In the case of Scott County, which only has one of three parks opened, such a formula could count against it.)

Themig believes the ultimate legislative decision came down to parachoial interests, instead of what was best for the region, with urban representatives controlling committees and urban park agencies standing much to gain if the formula-driven approach was adopted.

“Scott County is not a powerhouse at the Legislature,” Themig said. “We tried to work with the other [park] implementing agencies to look at the funding from a regional perspective. Instead, what happened, those agencies that had more power and voice were able to drive the formula.”

All the lobbying may not have been for naught, however. Themig said more dollars were put into a Metropolitan Council fund for land acquisition than originally proposed.

Additionally, the state Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Holsten has requested Themig serve on a state-wide committee that is charged with devising a 25-year long-term plan for parks and trails.

Themig is one of only two local government representatives from the metropolitan area asked to serve on the committee. The group could influence what allocation process the Legislature adopts for parks and trails after this biennium.

Shannon Fiecke is a staff writer for the Shakopee Valley News. She can be reached at sfiecke@swpub.com.