Redwood/Renville Area ATV/OHM Park Needs Your Help

[Dave]

The Redwood Area Trail Tamers ATV Club is requesting your help.

Either by attending a Renville County Commissioner meeting

or contacting the Commissioners to encourage them to

support an ATV/OHM park that the club has been working on.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005, 11:15 a.m.

Renville County Office Building

410 East DePue, Room 312

Olivia MN 56277

Phone: 320-523-3710

The Commissioners are listed below with mailing address and

phone numbers only. They do not have individual email

addresses. If you prefer to send comments via email, send them to [email protected] and make sure to note that you want a copy of the email given to each of the

commissioners.

The comments from residents will take precedence, but most officials are usually not opposed to hearing from non-residents. When submitting comments, be polite and courteous. Any derogatory comments will be discarded.

The letter below is from the club with details of the park.

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The”Redwood Area Trail Tamers” was formed as a club in June

of 2004. We are an ATV and OHM club based out of Redwood

and Renville Counties. Currently neither Redwood nor

Renville Counties have any legal riding areas. The two

closest parks that we can use are the Elm Creek ATV Trails

south of Windom and the Swift County OHM/ATV Park near

Appleton. Both are 1 to 1 ½ hours away from Redwood and

Renville Counties.

Currently our club is trying to work with Renville County

in the development of an OHM/ATV park located half way

between Redwood Falls and Olivia in Henryville Township.

The park would consist of 40 acres of county land and 157

acres of land to be purchased from a private party. The

land is a mined out gravel pit with some farm land. The

land is bordered by Beaver Creek to the west and farm land

on the other sides.

The funding proposal for the park was started by the

Renville County Environmental Office and the Renville

County Soil and Water Conservation District Office. The

funding would be used for land acquisition, parking area,

shelter house, handicap-accessible restroom, motorcycle

track, trails and required signage.

LAST SUMMER THE PARK WAS VOTED DOWN BY THE RENVILLE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BECAUSE OF LACK OF SUPPORT FROM AREA ENTHUSIASTS. We as a club were not yet formed and therefore only two people were at the commissioners’ meeting when this project was discussed. Since we have become a club, we have been working the Renville County Parks Department, the Minnesota DNR, and the Renville County Soil and Water Conservation Department on this project.

WE HAVE GOTTEN A SECOND CHANCE!

On September 20th at 11:15 a.m. we will be discussing the

issue with the Renville County Commissioners again. We need

ATVAM and its members to help support us in this project.

We need to show the Renville County Commissioners that

there is a need for this type of park. If we don’t get the

needed support and this item is voted down again, we will

have lost the $100,000 Federal grant that has already been

set aside for this project and another $125,000 that was to

come from the MN/DNR grant-in-aid project funds.

We would appreciate any and all support received from ATVAM

and its members with letters, phone calls or coming to the

meeting to show their support for the sport.

Thank you from The Redwood Area Trail Tamers

Please contact us at email:

[email protected]

President

Joel Mertens 507-627-9021

[email protected]

Vice Pres.

Ryan Becklund 507-430-0148

Renville County Commissioners:

Ralph Novotny

45295 Co. Rd. 11

Hector, MN 55342

Phone: 320-848-6392

Bob Fox

69914 Co Rd 5

PO Box 100.

Franklin MN 55333

Phone: 507-557-8265

Paul Setzepfandt

PO Box 534

Bird Island, MN 55310

Phone: 320-365-3270

John Stahl

402 S. 10th Street

Olivia MN 56277

Home: 320-523-1283

Work: 320-523-5146

Fax: 320-523-5146

Gale Dahlager

13699 Co. Rd. 11

Sacred Heart, MN 56285

Phone: 320-765-2781