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December 22, 1997 <br />ADDENDUM <br />To: <br />From: <br />Subject: <br />City of Orono <br />Freshwater Foundation <br />APPLICATION FOR AN AMENDMENT TO CONDITIONAL <br />USE PERMIT No. 3561 <br />.Brief History of the Freshwater Foundation and the Gray Freshwater Center <br />Ownership of the Gray Freshwater Center (GFC), previously named the Gray Freshwater <br />Biological Institute, was returned to the Freshwater Foundation by the University of <br />Minnesota on September 15, 1995. In April of that year in anticipation of the event, the <br />Freshwater Foundation filed an application for a Conditional Use Permit with the City of <br />Orono. At its May 22 meeting, the Orono City Council approved the application and Permit <br />No. 3561 was issued. <br />While the return of the GFC offers significant long-term benefits to the Foundation, the cost <br />of operation coupled with the operational demands required by the facility distracts the <br />Foundation from serving its fresh water mission as efficiently and effectively as intended. To <br />offset these distractions, the Foundation is seeking long-term tenants to fund the operation of <br />the facility. <br />Present Status <br />Since the return of GFC, the Freshwater Foundation has been exploring a variety of direct <br />uses of the facility in support of various fresh water program activities. At the same time, we <br />have been searching for potential rental candidates whose activities fit within the scope of the <br />Foundation's Conditional Use Permit. <br />Within the last two years, the Foundation has added two new newsletters - *ANS Digest" in <br />cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the national Task Force on Aquatic <br />Nuisance Species and "National Water Quality News" in cooperation with the U.S. Geological <br />Survey. These newsletters are distributed around the country and have been very well <br />received by both professionals and lay subscribers. <br />A Teacher Resource Center has been established within GFC to provide instruction, reference <br />materials, equipment and laboratory facilities to assist K-12 teachers in water-related <br />1