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Land Acquisition <br /> Priorities for land acquisition are influenced by the cost and availability of the land. The city <br /> may need to move quickly to take advantage of land that is for sale or to acquire land that is <br /> under development pressure. The city may also have to adjust priorities to recognize land that is <br /> available to the city through the park land dedication ordinance. Some of these opportunities <br /> cannot be anticipated by the Plan and, therefore, the Plan needs to be flexible enough to <br /> accommodate changes that are beneficial to the city and compatible (though not identical) to the <br /> Plan. <br /> Funding Programs <br /> In some cases, the source of funds to implement the park and recreation system will affect the <br /> priorities. For example, federal and state park grant programs establish eligibility requirements <br /> in which they fund certain types of park facilities and not others. They also utilize a rating <br /> system for grant applications in which park facilities on their priority list(such as boat launches, <br /> water related facilities and trails) are ranked higher than other facilities (such as parking areas, <br /> play areas and picnic facilities). <br /> Economic Development <br /> Park projects are sometimes part of an overall economic development strategy where they can be <br /> beneficial to the city in terms of facilitating targeted economic development projects. The <br /> downtown river walk may be an example of that type of project where, because of the positive <br /> effect on downtown development, the river walk may be given a higher priority. <br /> Natural Resources <br /> Protection of natural resources, such as woodland, wetland, native prairie, lakes, streams and <br /> rivers is an important objective of the Park and Recreation Plan. The opportunity to preserve <br /> these valuable natural resources will need to be recognized in the determination of priorities. <br /> Recreation Program Demands <br /> The demand for specific recreation programs and activities greatly affects the priorities for <br /> facilities. If there is a greater demand to participate in a program than existing facilities can <br /> accommodate, then those facilities should receive a higher priority that facilities with lesser <br /> participation. This is the case with athletic complexes. The facilities available for soccer, <br /> softball and baseball have not kept pace with the growing participation in these activities. The <br /> demand for athletic complexes is expected to continue to grow as new families locate in Elk <br /> River. <br /> 121 <br />