Personal finance committee backs Northland Arboretum plan to use levy dollars as grant match

At its July 6 meeting the City of Raynard personal finance committee expressed support for a Northland Arboretum request to use a portion of city levy dollars as a local match for a state parks-and-trails grant to acquire roughly 116 acres.

Nick Burrow, the city administrator, introduced the item and thanked Trevor from the Arboretum for attending. A representative for the Arboretum (identified in the meeting as Trevor) told the committee the county would be the formal applicant to the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission and that designation as a regionally eligible facility opens access to legacy/lottery funds.

"It's a really, really big deal," the Arboretum representative said, describing the site as newly eligible for a competitive pool of legacy funds that typically totals about $11 million to $13 million in a given year. The representative said the Arboretum seeks to protect the land by asking the county to acquire it and lease it back to the Arboretum under a long-term arrangement (described in the meeting as a 99-year plus 99-year lease) so the property cannot later be converted to residential development.

Committee members framed the request as an intentional use of levy dollars to leverage additional, competitive state funds for land protection. The presentation noted that the funding competition includes hundreds of eligible applicants across the state and that the county's application would position the Arboretum to compete for those legacy funds.

After discussion committee members signaled support; the chair asked for a voice affirmation and members responded in the affirmative. The meeting did not record a formal roll-call tally in the transcript; the committee proceeded to the next agenda item after the affirmation.

Why it matters: If the application succeeds, the county acquisition and long-term lease structure would place the land under long-term protection, and the Arboretum said the arrangement would also create a capital/improvement fund for the organization. The committee's letter of support would be used to show local financial backing as part of the grant application process.