7.1. SR 01-04-2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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To whom it may concern, December 2015 We have lived in Elk River since the early 19705. We bought the home at 1946 Main St. in 1982. At that time the property out our front door had been dosed as a boat launch by The Elk River City Council on August 18, 1975 and again on June 7, 1976. Actually it was closed as a boat launch before the original owners built our home. In the early 1980s some people believed that R was public property and would use it as a place to swim, and behave in a manner that was not appropriate for children to witness. On occasions 1 had to pack up our kids and go someplace else to remove them from what was happening on the city easement right outside my front door. Often the result of the public use of this property left a mess. I could either look at The mess or clean it up. I have picked up beer and soda cans, paper products, cigarette butts, discarded food and condoms. In addition to the distasteful things going on right outside my front door, there is a liability issue for the city. The chunk of concrete that is left from the unused boat launch is extremely slippery from algae. I have warned many people young and old not to walk on iC I am confident there are other liabilities to the city by making the easement a public recreation area. We have cared for and made Improvement to this piece of land when tow by the city that they had no plans to improve or maintain it. We own in fee simple the title to the westerly half of York Ave. north of Main St. For 34 years, at our expense, we have snow plowed and resurfaced York Ave. on the North side of Main St. We have maintained the grass again because we would have looked at an unkempt piece of land. I have not done a study but just looking around at other cities it appears that most public used city easements such as boat landing and fishing docks are not located in residential areas. I believe the City of Elk River made a good decision by expanding and improving the park area on the west side of the lake between city buildings and Highway 10 where real estate tax payers are not inconvenienced. This park is a beautiful facility that has everything that the public could need for take enjoyment. I believe many citizens that live on the lake as well as those not living on the lake would rather see the city invest in and maintain the existing public parks rather than adding more. If this property would be opened for public use I am quite certain that it would cause problems for home owners in the area as well as the city. The residents near this ROW have much more to lose than any Elk River resident has to gain by this easement hemming open to the public. This piece of land has come before the city at least 13 times since the 1970s. I would ask for the City to vacate this easement and relieve themselves and us of the repeated controversy over it. Some members of the Elk River City Council are concerned about getting the ROW back if they needed it. It was not needed or maintained by the city for over 40 years. I would like to see this ROW permanently closed to the public by vac ting it. If necessary could it be vacated with a reservation that the City of Elk River could use it for emergency purposes? Then perhaps this matter would not come before the City Council whenever someone decides that they should have a right to it.