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| Date: | April 26, 2011 | | Contact Name: | Peter D. Winiecki | | Contact Phone: | 651-297-8077 | | Contact Email: | peter.winiecki@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| SENATOR JOHN PEDERSON INTRODUCES PARKS AND TRAILS LEGACY FUNDING BILL |
(St. Paul) -- The funding path to construction of an ambitious statewide system of regional parks and trails would be much smoother under a plan introduced by Senator John Pederson (R-St. Cloud) according to longtime Stearns County Parks Director Chuck Wocken.
“This proposal provides the funding necessary to achieve the recommendations citizens said they wanted in a statewide regional park and trail system,” Wocken said. “We’re thankful for Senator Pederson for bringing it forward.
The proposal provides 26 percent of the $38 million in annual State Park and Trail Legacy funding to a grant program exclusive to cities and counties outside the seven county metro area.
“I wanted to bring some sort of equity into a funding scenario that shorted Greater Minnesota in the initial funding cycle two-years ago,” Sen. Pederson said. “The state spent a lot of time and money building a 25-year plan for parks and trails, and there is no-way to achieve those goals for Greater Minnesota without adequate funding.”
The plan gets its first hearing Tuesday afternoon, April 26 in the Senate Environment and Natural Resource Committee.
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