April 5, 2005 Facsimile and U.S. Mail
Chuck Spoden, Regional Director
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
1201 East Highway 2
Grand Rapids, MN 55744
Mr. Spoden:
Thank you for returning my call today regarding our outstanding December 7, 2004 data request to Les Ollila, Supervisor, Trails and Waterways Division. We appreciate the active cooperation on the part of your Enforcement Division to respond to the enforcement related items on the December 7 request. We continue to await a response from the Trails and Waterways Division on items IV – VII as discussed in today’s phone conversation.
The Minnesota Data Practices Act, Chapter 13.03 requires that "the responsible authority in every state agency, political subdivision…insure that requests for government data are received and complied with in an appropriate and prompt manner." In the 670 opinions rendered by the Minnesota Department of Administration, regarding compliance with the Minnesota Data Practices Act, governmental agencies are expected to reply in an appropriate manner within 15 – 20 days. After waiting 82 days for your office to respond to our December 7, 2004 request for data we find that you are grossly out of compliance with the Minnesota Data Practices Act. Please provide requested data reiterated in subsequent written communications (December 20, 2004 and February 4, 2005) and reviewed in our phone conversation today as soon as possible.
In addition to our concerns regarding our outstanding December 7 data request and as reiterated in our phone conversation, MRR is also very concerned that public funds are being disbursed to the Hermantown Nightriders Snowmobile Club in violation of their grant-in-aid agreements with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The attached October 11, 2004 "landowner list" faxed to MRR by your office contains numerous landowners who are deceased, have long ago withdrawn their permission, or who never provided written permission for a snowmobile trail to cross their land. The list indicates that one property owner provided written permission years before the landowner purchased the property. The list, furthermore, omits several property owners who have or have had the snowmobile trail on their land but never provided written permission.
Attached also find a copy of a Minnesota Snowmobile Trail Assistance Program Grant Agreement from the 2001-2002 DNR Trails Assistance Program Manual. Note that the bulk of the agreement refers to the requirement that an "ownership list" demonstrating that an "easement, lease or permit", "affidavit", or "instrument of conveyance or permit" be obtained from the "owner of [each] parcel" to be crossed by a proposed snowmobile trail before funds are disbursed. The lack of such required written permission and submission of inaccurate and false information in the current October 11, 2004 list by the Hermantown Nightriders Snowmobile Club finds that the snowmobile club, their fiscal agent, St. Louis County and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources are in obvious violation of these agreements.
Attached please find Trail Assistance Program applications submitted by the Hermantown Nightriders Snowmobile Club and Minnesota Trail Assistance Program Grant Agreements for 2003 and 2004 signed by St. Louis County and DNR staff indicating incorrectly that written landowner permission has been submitted and received.
The attached 2003 Office of the Legislative Auditor’s Program Evaluation Report: State-Funded Trails for Motorized Recreation recommends that the DNR should set up a schedule of reductions in future grants for violations of program requirements…(p. 58) Given the above and attached information that the DNR has been improperly disbursing public trail funds to the Hermantown Nightriders Snowmobile Club for at least several years, Minnesotans for Responsible Recreation requests that you take the following actions:
Please call me at 218-740-3175 with any questions regarding our request to withhold public trail funds from Hermantown Nightriders Snowmobile Club as well as our outstanding December 7, 2004 request for data.
Thank you for your attention to these serious matters.
Sincerely,
Jeff Brown,
Executive Director