Houlton Farm Planning Committee Meeting 2015-05-11

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Houlton Farm Property Naming Contest The City of Elk River has recently acquired a 335 acre parcel of land that is just west of downtown. It is currently being referred to as the Houlton Farm property. The land area is about 1/3 forested and 2/3 open farmland and has over 2 %Z miles of combined Mississippi and Elk River frontage. The city is currently working on a management plan for the property in conjunction with the Friends of the Mississippi River. The Houlton Farm property was acquired with funds from the Outdoor Heritage Fund with the express purpose of being managed for high quality native habitat for wildlife. The property is currently closed to the public and will remain so until the anticipated opening in the fall of 2016. Once opened, it will be open to the public year round for passive, non - motorized recreational uses such as hiking,snowshoeing, cross country skiing, bird watching, fishing, and limited hunting. Hunting opportunities will follow MN DNR seasons and be tightly regulated in adherence with a hunting plan approved by the DNR specifically tailored to this unique property. The City of Elk River is seeking the public's assistance in the naming of the property and is having a contest to solicit names. The rules of the contest are listed below. The contest is open to everyone. 2. A $100 prize will be given to the winning entrant. 3. The winning entry will be the name that is approved by the Elk River City Council. 4. If more than one individual submits the name that is ultimately selected for the property, a winner selected at random from the pool of identical names will be the sole contest winner. 5. The word "park" may not be used in the name. Naming should be sensitive to the properties primary use. 6. If an appropriate winning entrant cannot be picked from the submitted names, the Houlton Farm property planning group will propose a name for the property and forward it to the Parks and Recreation Commission for its recommendation to the Elk River City Council for final approval. 7. Members of the Houlton Farm property planning committee, the Elk River City Council, members of City Commissions, and City of Elk River Employees may submit names, but are not eligible for the contest prize money 8. The contest will run from April 13, 2015 through May 8, 2015.