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Exhibit D Bailey Point Nature Preserve gets its wings •YJoni Astrup,Associate editor Bailey Point Nature Preserve, Elk River's newest park, is officially open. Anderson also noted that there has been a mayor, city council and city staff in place willing to seize the opportunity to acquire the land when it was available. "In another day and another time, this opportunity may have - been missed out on," he said. �. Mayor John Dietz and Musz Bailey,accompanied by her son Tim, i cut the ribbon during a ceremony Aug.14 at the park entrance. / " The park is located at 1 Morton Ave.,west of downtown at the �` confluence of the Elk and Mississippi rivers. "This is a great day for the city," Dietz said. "This is just a j jewel of a piece of property." Elk River Parks and Recreation Chair Dave Anderson(left)talked The park will be left largely in its natural state, offering about Bailey Point as Mayor John Dietz watched. walking trails and a fishing area. About a dozen fll members of the Bailey family were on hand for the There also was an element of luck, Anderson said. He ark's opening. The Baileys owned the point for many described how he got a call one day from the city's ears. The family was involved in the founding and g y y operation of Cretex in Elk River. ,:. former parks and recreation director, Bill Maertz, who had moved on to a job in California. Maertz had been "They were very active in the community for many, notified by a former colleague in Ramsey, telling him many, many years so I think it's very appropriate that we about the possibility of Minnesota Land Trust money name this Bailey Point Nature Preserve," Dietz said. being available for purchases such as Bailey Point. John Bailey Jr. said the Elk River community has been wonderful to the Bailey family and they will enjoy the That's really what helped turn the tide, Anderson said, park for generations to come. spurring negotiations and making the park happen. "It's almost like a gift to the family," Bailey said. Both he and the mayor recognized the volunteers, many City Administrator Cal Portner and Elk River Parks and from the neighborhood, who have put in hundreds of Recreation Commission Chairman Dave hours at the park since the city purchased it. Anderson Anderson also spoke. said they took down the white wooden fence, removed "Standing here, doing this has been a dream of mine for miles of barbed wire and hundreds of fence posts and I can't tell you how long,"Anderson said. installed new fencing. He called Bailey Point a"fabulous piece of property." Old entrance gates were sandblasted by Elk River He thanked John and Nancy Babcock, who had owned Machine, repainted and reinstalled at the park. Bailey Point since 2003 and sold it to the city last year, for making the park a reality. "It's this effort of community that is going to continue to • make this great,"Anderson said. 11