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Roseville Parks and Re(:re ation Survey <br /> ................. <br /> Minnesota froges <br /> From the Star Tribune (The survey was conducted by NRQ <br /> South, west metro counties awake to parks' need <br /> After decades of relative slumber, the areas are springing into action and preserving land for <br /> future park development. <br /> By DAVID PETERSON, Star Tribune 952-882-9023 <br /> Spurred by citizen interest and a realization that they have been slow to develop their own chains of <br /> parks, south and west metro counties are turning their attention to the creation of major regional <br /> parks. <br /> In an area that has seen many residents take advantage of parks in other areas, these are among the <br /> signs of change: <br /> • Dakota County is pursuing the millions it needs to clinch a tentative $15 million deal to buy from <br /> a family hundreds of acres north of Farmington that would provide the link between a vast area of <br /> land in public ownership. <br /> • Scott County, in the midst of its first land-buying surge in decades, hopes to allow people access <br /> as soon as this summer to two major sites that will not be fully built out for many years. <br /> • Carver County is considering asking voters to raise their taxes in order to accelerate by decades <br /> the development of a park system. <br /> Behind all the movement, advocates say, lies a growing awareness that providing parks, trails and <br /> open space is just about the most popular thing governments ever do. <br /> C)C) <br /> And it follows an era in which all three counties have lagged behind others in the metro. <br /> "It's a new venture for us," said Mark Themig, parks program manager for Scott, a position that has <br /> only existed since 2007. <br /> Per capita visits to regional parks -- a measure of both citizen interest and the availability of <br /> attractive sites -- are just a fraction in all three counties of what they are in Hennepin and Ramsey <br /> counties. <br /> And citizens feel the absence of choices. In a 2006 survey, Scott citizens' assessment of their "access <br /> to parks" was way below the norm expressed in surveys of people in similarly-situated counties <br /> around the nation. Ratings in other areas, such as child care, were well above the national norm. <br /> Page 30 <br />