4C Motion to Accept the Resignations of Bill Henry, Roger Williams, and Jim Crassweller from the Parks, Trails, and Recreation Committe

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Stan -- I joined the PTRC 10 years ago because I�ought it afforded me the opportunity to work to beneiit my cornmunity in an area that is very important to me. As I look back on thase �en years, I find very little to show for the wark of the PTRC; as T look %rward, I see nothing t1�at suggests t�at situation will change. After a good deal of deliberation, it is clear to me that the time, thoughY, effort and soul that I expend on #ne PTRC will be better spent elsewhere. As a result, I resign from the PTRC effective immediately. Several factors influence this decision and I suggest they might be of rmpor� as you recruit others to join the PTRC. The most important of these is t�ie inability of the City Council to understand its role in governing the City and the resultant confusion over the role of cornmittees and commissions. For IQ years I have struggled with the con#lict between the identified rale of the PTRC and the Council's dislike For those wha advocate positions it does not wish ta hear. A related factar is the Council's lack of vision and the difficulties that poses for a corn�nittee that tries to pian in meaningful ways for the development of resources into the future. The plans and visions we have advanced, sometimes in collaboration with the Council, have resulted in no new Ciiy investments in partcs and trails, save for the building at Perry Park. The Council is content to wait for others ta fund resources the City needs and should develop. Maybe Bethel, ar the County, or the State, or some developer will add a bit of irail here and there, but tl�at is a far cry from the integrated irail and park system the citizens of the community deserve and t�ie PTRC has advocated for. The Cauncil does not lead. Ins#ead it engages in dynamic foIlowing based largely on its reading of a grandly imper#'ect sannpling of public opinion. The result is that rirne after time a small group af people concerned with Nat In My Backyard issues stifles the developmient of zesources that would beneiit the cornrnon good. Lacicing both courage and �ision, the Council is unable to stand up to these groups, and proposals offered by the PTRC and other committees die on the vine. When we reviewed the 1998 Comprehensive Plan, we found the same issues and deficiencies with which fihe 1'TRC is dealing in 2408. We have prapased solutions from a pedestrian underpass in the reconsiruction oi Hwy. 96 to the bridge over Hwy 51 to an arterial irail system to quarterly community-building events. Nathing happens, time passes, and I wonder why the PTRC e�cists. I have enjoyed watching Michelle Olson bIossam in her new role, and T am grateful for the work she de�otes to the PTRC. However, her work alone is not enough to sustain the FTRC or advance the causes it espouses. This election nolds great promise for change in the United States and in Minnesota, but there is no prospect of change in Arden Hills. The status quo is insu�icient, the Council is intolerant oi advocacy, there is no leadership and the econorruc environtnent is threatening. I can no Ionger justify my involvement. Bill Henry