Editorial: Lake Vermilion park could use a push

Getting this done won't be easy -- but will be worth the effort.

Last update: March 13, 2008 - 12:05 AM

It's rally time at the Legislature for Minnesotans who love the idea of preserving a pristine piece of Lake Vermilion lakeshore from private development. The proposal to create a state park on that big northern lake's southeast corner stalled in a House committee this week. It could use a few more friends just now.

The opportunity for the state to acquire a choice parcel from U.S. Steel has a crucial ally in Gov. Tim Pawlenty. But the Republican governor cannot propel this idea through the DFL-controlled Legislature with enthusiasm alone. It will take serious negotiations, particularly with St. Louis County, and a heightened sense among legislators that Minnesotans don't want to pass up a rare chance to reserve for public use a choice corner of Lake Vermilion.

The Senate sponsor of the bill is Cook DFLer Tom Bakk -- a tough man to ignore on any issue affecting his district. Bakk's support for the park is contingent on something that's overdue for high-level negotiation: St. Louis County wants the project to produce no net loss of developable, taxable lakeshore land. The county wants the state to put land of similar value on the market for private development.

That, Bakk said, is a "drop-dead serious" plea from a county in which 61 percent of the land is already off the tax rolls. Northeastern Minnesota residents are not opposed to one more park, he said, but "they aren't interested in a land grab."

Also unresolved is the mechanism for paying for land whose purchase price is still under negotiation, and a park whose development costs are likely to exceed the land price. Pawlenty proposes to bond for the total, and use the lottery-financed Environmental Trust Fund for debt service. But the commission that controls that fund does not want to set that precedent.

Some legislators want to pay for land acquisition now, and for park development later. Pawlenty -- and Bakk -- resist that idea. They want to move quickly to build Minnesota's first 21st-century state park, with amenities geared for both retirees and the Facebook generation. That way, it can quickly be self-sustaining financially, and can be a proving ground for the renovation of the other 66 parks the state operates.

It's late in the lawmaking season for so much to remain unsettled. But that's in large part because the chance to acquire the Lake Vermilion parcel arose unexpectedly only last June. It's a fleeting opportunity. U.S. Steel plans to sell the land for luxury home development if a deal is not completed with the state by Aug. 1.

That's why this would be a grand time for Minnesotans to remind lawmakers that they are entrusted as stewards of state assets -- including its natural ones -- not just for the duration of their terms, but for decades to come. And that sometimes, the best opportunities are unexpected ones.

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