9.C.3. PRSR 10-09-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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••: SEP-24-2002 16:51 P.01/03 ■ •• • Mayor Stephanie Klinzing City of Elk River 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 Fax: 763.11.2133 44-i 14a5. Mr. Arne Engstrom County Commissioner Sherburne County Commissioners 13880 Highway 10 Elk River, MN 55330 Fax: 763.241.2707 Dear Mayor Klinzing and Mr. Engstrom, Proposed Elk River Ban on Snowmobiling As a future resident of Elk River and Sherburne County, I am appalled about the proposed Elk River city ban on the use of snowmobiles. I am just in the process of closing on a 2 acre property in the Ridgewood Subdivision of Elk River(19872 Watson Circle). I specifically purchased this property in order to be able to ride my snowmobile from my house to County Road 77 (Proctor Street) and access County Road 33 and the trails from Highway 169. As my house is just south of County Road 33, but not in the Urban Services District, I am affected by this ban which means I cannot access the trail system just near my new home. The ban would effectively mean I could not also ride my snowmobile in the yard of my property to test it after working on it. This is a considerable infringement on my personal right to utilize a not inexpensive piece of equipment. I have a number of friends in the Elk River area who will be likewise affected. There are 22,000 miles of trails in Minnesota and snowmobiling is a major boon to the economy of this state. I believe snowmobiling contributes something like $2 billion to the earnings of Minnesota. Sherburne County itself advertises Sand Dunes State Forest as being a beautiful area in which to ride a snowmobile.Access to Sand Dunes State Forest will be restricted by the ban as people will not be able to travel through the Elk River area to access the northern trail system. An outright ban on snowmobiling in the Elk River area is an inconsiderate knee jerk reaction that needs to be considered carefully as it will have a significant adverse impact the registered snowmobile owners in Elk River, as well as visitors to the area. At the 18 March 2002 Elk River City Council meeting a non-resident of Elk River indicated that getting across Elk River on a snowmobile is a problem. It was reported that the prohibition of all snowmobiling south of County Road 33 makes it impossible for them to get across Elk River without getting stopped by the police. Elk River Police are Page 1 of 3