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I I. I I I I I I I .. I I I I I I I. I I E. Other Participants in the TeAAP Planning Process As mentioned in the introduction to this chapter (Section IA), The City of Arden Hills has not been alone in planning for the reuse ofTCAAP. Two other groups bave been involved in planning efforts -- one to produce its own plan, the other to gather information relevant to planning. The TCAAP Reutilization Committee ("the Committee") was convened in the fall of 1994 by Congressman Bruce Vento (D-MN). The Committee consisted of seventeen representatives: one official representative from each of the four municipalities (Arden Hills, Shoreview, New Brighton and Mounds View); one representative oflocal citizens in each of the four municipalities; one from the bnsiness community; one from economic readjustment interests; one from among homeless providers; one from organized labor; one from among environmental interests; one from School District #621; one from the Minnesota National Guard; one from the State of Minnesota (Office of Planning); one from Ramsey County; and one each from the offices of Mr. Vento and U.s. Senator Paul Wellstone. Advising this group was an informal panel of representatives from the Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment, the General Services Administration, AMCCOM, the US EP A, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Alliant TechSystems and, eventually, the City of Arden Hills. Other advisors included representatives of the MN Department of Natural Resources, the MN Amateur Athletics Commission, and many other groups. The Committee met an average of once a month for a year. With no professional planning staff and no resources, the ability of this group to produce a thorough plan was somewhat limited. However, they did take in a large amount of information and heard proposals from a variety of existing and potential users: Alliant TechSystems, the National Guard, Ramsey County, the MN Amateur Athletics Commission, the American Indian Housing Corporation (not affiliated with the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Sioux), and the City of Arden Hills. This fact- fmding effort was instrumental in informing the entire planning process for everyone involved. By late spring, the Committee had rejected two reuse proposals. One would have set aside the entire site as open space. This was rejected because of the continued presence of Alliant Tech, the lack of an immediately willing and able sponsor, and a recognition that this would meet only one community need without addressing others. The second proposal would have essentially codified the status quo by setting aside all land that does not lie beneath Alliant Tech's safety arcs as open space, with Alliant Tech continuing to operate as it does today. This too failed, primarily because the Committee had just begun receiving meaningful community input. At its fmal meeting, on December 16, the Committee endorsed the plan submitted by the City of Arden Hills, with a few minor changes. This decision gives the plan greater credibility and legitimacy and will allow the community to approach Washington with a single, united voice. (See Section V, "Plan Refmement and Preferred Reuse Plan.") The Committee roster and its fmal report are included in the appendix to this report. The Arsenal Clean-up and Conversion Project (ACCP) grew out of efforts by Minnesota Jobs With Peace to track disposal ofTCAAP. With the help of interns and faculty from the University of Minnesota, ACCP held a series of public brainstorming sessions to gather additional information for the Vento Committee. The sessions were held in and around Arden Hills. Some were open to anyone, while others targeted specific groups -- businesspersons, the elderly, low-income households, etc. ACCP issued a preliminary report in early July, which they presented at a meeting of the Arden Hills Task Force. Camiros, Ltd.lSEH, Inc.lLHDL, LId. TCAAP Framework Plan Pagel 0 Chapter I