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From the President's Desk
by Tom Cox, TMLA President
CENTRAL MINNESOTA’S POPULATION is projected to grow more than 40 percent over the next 25 years, this according to Kathy Gaalswyk, President of the Initiative Foundation, writing in the Sept. 9th edition of the Pilot-Independent. According to Jennifer Hawkins, Minnesota’s Region 5 Development Commission economic development director, as reported in the July 13th edition of the Pine Cone Press-Citizen, the state demographer expects Cass County’s population to increase nearly 70%, from 27,150 in 2000 to 45,300 by 2030!
WHAT DOES BURGEONING growth mean to members of the TMLA? Among other things, it surely means more developmental pressure on the lake and its environs. We see signs of growth all around us, in older buildings being demolished and replaced with expanded cabins and year-round homes, in the upgrading of state and local roads, in proposals for denser development (e.g., the proposed Kenfield Pines Planned Unit Development – PUD – at the south end of Kenfield Bay) and in the development of new businesses where before we saw only forests (e.g., the new 371 Storage Complex adjacent to the Paul Bunyan Trail on CSAH 6).
IT WAS IN RESPONSE to member suggestions that the TMLA had not been proactive enough on issues related to the upgrading of CSAH 6 this summer, that an opportunity was given at the Annual Meeting for people to express their interest in the formation of an Association “Preservation Committee.” We do presently have a Zoning Committee, which pays attention to zoning variance and PUD applications. The thought was that the TMLA might be well served by having another committee, one that would look beyond zoning variance issues to the broader picture of future development and its potential impact on the lake.
AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, six members volunteered their interest in the possible formation of such a committee. We held an exploratory meeting on Sept 11, when, as it turned out, only one of those volunteers was able to come. However, our Vice President, Al Griggs, our Watershed Coordinator, John Alden, one volunteer - Tom Moore, and I met that morning to discuss what the mission of such a group might be. We also agreed that the committee might better be called a Conservation Committee.
WE IDENTIFIED several things on which a Conservation Committee might focus its attention:
 | Esthetics of development and conformity with County guidelines. | ||||||||||||
| Local road upgrades (County 6, 50 and 71). | ||||||||||||
| Additional Public Access to Ten Mile. | ||||||||||||
| Volunteer service on the citizens’ advisory committee to the Environmental Services Department. | ||||||||||||
| Identification of language in the TMLA Long Range plan that opens the door to this Committee’s taking action on long range goals. | ||||||||||||
| Stewardship of TMLA’s seven lake shore parcels. | ||||||||||||
| Acquisition of additional properties. | ||||||||||||
| Research, education and action proposals on Conservation Easements. | ||||||||||||
| Systematic outreach/liaison to other organizations that share TMLA’s goals, such as the Association of Cass County Lakes, Sky Blue Waters Joint Powers Board, the Tri-County Leech Lake Watershed Project, the Minnesota Lakes Association, the Trust for Public Lands and the Minnesota Land Trust. | ||||||||||||
| Second and third tier property development, lake access and carrying capacities of lakes. | ||||||||||||
| Governor Pawlenty’s North Central Lakes Project, a program of the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources to maintain and improve the long-term health of the state’s
north-central lakes, the key elements of which are:
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| An Issues Symposium for TMLA members. |
IN THE TIME we spent brain-storming, the four of us had little difficulty identifying potential issues for a Conservation Committee’s attention. But absent most of those who had indicated an interest in the possibility of forming such a committee, we decided to table our discussion until next summer when, we hope, more volunteers will be available join in this formative process for what may become a vitally important new TMLA committee.
