Title
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE DULUTH-BASED PORTIONS OF THE SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL MASTER PLAN AND APPLICATION FOR REGIONAL PARK OR TRAIL DESIGNATION THROUGH THE GREATER MINNESOTA REGIONAL PARKS AND TRAILS COMMISSION
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CITY PROPOSAL:
WHEREAS, 48 miles of the Superior Hiking Trail (the "Trail") are located within the City of Duluth, most of it on City property; and
WHEREAS, the construction of the Trail first began in the 1980s, with the Duluth portions of the trail completed in 2013; and
WHEREAS, the Superior Hiking Trail Association (the "Association") has undertaken a master planning process for the entirety of the Trail, which includes more than 300 miles of trail traversing a large number of public and private landowners; and
WHEREAS, the Association presented its Superior Hiking Trail Master Plan, attached as Exhibit A, to the Parks and Recreation Commission, which passed a motion of support endorsing the Duluth-based portions of the Plan on August 14, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the City of Duluth wishes to help strengthen the capacity of the Association to improve and maintain the Trail within the City; and
WHEREAS, the Association's financial capacity to improve and maintain the Trail would be enhanced if the Trail were to receive a Regional Park or Trail Designation by the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission (the "Commission"); and
WHEREAS, only local government units may apply for Regional Park or Trail Designation.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Duluth endorses the Association's Master Plan as it pertains to the Duluth-based portions of the Trail.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Duluth has the authority to act as legal joint applicant for the Association's pursuit of a trail designation through a Request for Designation through the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission as a Regional Park or Trail in Greater Minnesota.
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the City of Duluth, as joint applicant, su...
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