04-24-1995 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Edwtrd J. Callahan Jr. Saga Hill Grant Application r Background Information for Orono City Council Members Situation Analysis The City of Orono has a rare opportunity to preserve a significant historic and environmentally sensitive area, at minimal cost to the taxpayers. An 11 + acre parcel adjoining the City's new natural area on Saga Hill has become available for purchase. The City can obtain 50% of the funds needed through a Minnesota DNR Natural and Scenic Grant. The Saea Hill Preservation Society will provide the balance through private ftmdraising. The City's financial contribution to the project is voluntary, subject to the Council's judgment. Why Saga HiU? • Saga Hill is the largest remaining open space in urban Orono. It is almost completely surrounded by high density development. Residents of the rural areas of Orono have access to both their own acreage, and adjacent open spaces. Urban residents, on the small lots clustering around Lake Minnetonka, lack that luxury. Saga Hill is used daily by manv of the families in the immediate vicinity, for walking, bird watching and seasonal activities like cross-country skiing. The city has already, judiciously, set aside 9.5 acres. Now, there is an opportunity expand the natural area to over 20 acres. • Saga Hill is an important historic, liter^ and religious resource. It is the site of an early Swedish settlement, and at one time was known as New Sweden. The renowned evangelist Reverend E. August Skogsbergh conducted services in Swedish for hundreds of recent immigrants who visited Saga Hill by train and steamship. The church remains today as Fairview Covenant. It is the subject of a book," Saga of Saea Hill." by noted historian Dr. Theodore C. Blegen, who singled the area out as important in Minnesota history. Author Borghild Dahl, whose writings can be found in the University's Curlan collection, wrote about Saga Hill in her famous book," A Minnetonka Summer. • Saga Hill, m its natural state, serves the vital function of dispersing run-off and preventing erosion. Preserving the land in its natural state will protect Forest Lake and the West Arm of Lake Minnetonka from damaging run-off.