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From: Diane K. Tetens To: Carlton. Zachary Subject: [EXTERNAL] TWIN LAKES AND LINE AVENUE Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2020 10:09:29 AM Hi Zach, As a new owner and resident of Elk River, I wanted to give you some insights on why I chose to live here. Although my parents grew up along Highway 10 near Wadena Minnesota, I grew up in the Cities and have always lived close to where I could find work. As a child, we would always pass through Elk River to visit my grandparents. It has always been a dream of mine to eventually live in a rural area when I retired. In 2005 1 was able to purchase a townhouse in The Lakes in Blaine, and then I retired a few years later. In 2020 1 moved to Elk River to fulfill my dream. There is more to this story, but to keep it short - Elk River is a beautiful historic river town, continues to have a rural feel to it, is close enough to the Cities for me to see friends and get to the airport within a reasonable amount of time, and surrounds itself by lots of nature. It did not take me long to decide on Elk River. But while looking, I encountered some drawbacks. There were very few one -level townhouses in this area for sale and not many builders at all in this area. There was much more commercial than I had anticipated, and these commercial areas looked very worn down. But after all the looking, I came back because I could still look out back in this townhouse and there was not much noise, the area looked like a park, and commercial was far enough away from my home. When I asked if anyone could build behind me, I was told not directly behind me. That was enough for me to purchase. The positives outweighed the negatives: I would be living close to an old town along the river with easy access to 169 and 10, businesses would be far enough away from my house yet close enough for me to get the services I needed, and where my house was located still had that rural feel about it. If areas off Twin Lakes will be sold for development between Line and Main Streets, I hope you push for residential rather than commercial keeping it feeling like a historic river -town feel. Many young aging retirees are looking to move into rural -like areas. It is one of your greatest assets. If you take that away, it will become like any other town. I did not have the luxury to live in a small town when I was younger. I love living here now because I am still young enough to explore this area at a time when I can still enjoy it. I really love where I am living, and I hope not to move anytime soon. As a new resident, I wanted to give you some insight as a new owner and retiree to the area and some reasons why I moved here. With all the work soon to be scheduled on 169, 1 hope the City of Elk River not only looks at how to build their infrastructure with commercial businesses in mind, but also the people who are drawn to your City to support businesses. Thanks for reading my views. Sincerely,