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Harmony EDA approves purchase of DNR/LCCMR trail signage, presses for full construction
Summary
The Harmony Economic Development Authority voted to buy five “funding provided by” signs acknowledging LCCMR support for a planned trail extension and asked staff to push DNR for full construction beyond the town’s border to Iowa, despite DNR guidance tying work to an Iowa connection.
The Harmony Economic Development Authority voted June 4 to buy five 12"x12" “funding provided by” signs acknowledging LCCMR funding for a proposed trail extension and urged staff to press the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for full construction now rather than waiting for a connecting Iowa segment.
At the electronically held meeting, city staff member Chris Giesen told the board that the DNR grant department had given the city a clean review on the LCCMR grant but that DNR planners are delaying public input meetings until pandemic restrictions ease and had told the trail committee they expect to build the trail only as far as the Iowa border unless a matching trail from Iowa is underway. The board expressed concern about that limitation and agreed efforts should be made to pursue full construction.
The board approved a motion, moved by Steve Sagen and seconded by Kerry Kingsley, to buy five 12"x12" signs from the DNR web store at $20 each, including mounting hardware and posts, to credit LCCMR for funding. The board recorded a unanimous roll-call vote of four yeas and zero nays (Skaalen, Batstone, Kingsley, Sagen). Giesen recommended five signs — one for each trail entrance, one at the junction and one spare — and the board accepted that plan.
Chair Chris Skaalen suggested the authority later host a small reception to thank volunteers and state officials and to mark the land donation that will support the trail; members agreed that such an event could be scheduled later in the summer depending on public-health guidance.
The DNR planning position that construction might stop at the Iowa border was the central concern of the discussion. The EDA did not adopt a formal resolution at the June 4 meeting directing a change in the DNR plan; board members instead unanimously approved the sign purchase and asked staff to continue advocating for full construction when discussing the plan amendment and future public comment opportunities.
