HF 1967

1st Committee Engrossment - 86th Legislature (2009 - 2010) Posted on 03/19/2013 07:29pm

A bill for an act
relating to natural resources; establishing parks and trails legacy grant program;
appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes,
chapter 85.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

[85.535] PARKS AND TRAILS LEGACY GRANT PROGRAM.

The commissioner of natural resources shall administer a program to provide
grants from the parks and trails fund to support parks and trails of regional or statewide
significance.

Sec. 2. STATE AND REGIONAL PARKS AND TRAILS FRAMEWORK.

(a) $....... in fiscal year 2010 is appropriated from the parks and trails fund to
the commissioner of natural resources for a collaborative project to develop a 25-year
framework for the use of the money available in the parks and trails fund under the
Minnesota Constitution, article XI, section 15, and other traditional sources of funding.
The collaborative project shall consist of a joint effort between representatives of the
commissioner of natural resources, the Metropolitan Council and its implementing
agencies, the Central Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Coordinating Board, and
regional parks and trails organizations outside the metropolitan area. The members shall
prepare a ten-year strategic parks and trails coordination plan and develop a 25-year
framework for use of the funding that includes goals and measurable outcomes and
includes a vision for Minnesotans of what the state and regional parks will look like in
25 years.

(b) In developing the coordination plan and framework, the members shall utilize a
process, including Web site survey tools and regional listening sessions, to be staffed by
the commissioner, that ensures that citizens are included in development and finalization
of the final plan and framework. The commissioner, council, and board shall provide for
input from user groups and local and regional park and trail organizations.

(c) The plan and framework must include:

(1) a proposed definition of "parks and trails of regional significance";

(2) a plan to increase the number of visitors to state and regional parks;

(3) a plan for serving areas with limited access to state parks, including identifying
the potential for county collaboration;

(4) budgeting for ongoing maintenance;

(5) decommissions;

(6) a plan for trails that takes into account connectivity and the potential for use
by commuters;

(7) requirements for local contribution; and

(8) benchmarks, beginning no later than July 1, 2014.

(d) The commissioner shall submit the ten-year plan and 25-year framework in a
report to the legislature no later than October 1, 2010.