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Paul M. T cede 33205 South Upper Hay Drive Pequot Lakes,Minnesota 56472 E-mail: PndtdcMtds.net Telephone: 218-568-5774 Cell: 218-838-8146 January 12,2004 Members of the Pequot Lakes City Council Officials of the Minnesota Department of Transportation Dear Sir or Madam: When I was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1978 and thereafter as a member of that body's Committee on Transportation, there were two givens said to be untouchable. First, the junction of Highways 371 and 210 would never depart from the City limits of Brainerd, and second, the inevitable expansion of Highway 371 North to four lanes had existing plans that insured passage through the towns of Nisswa and Pequot Lakes. Like other urban legends,the first was set aside and the second is at risk. I write this letter to suggest a return to the weight of history. Long is the vision that insisted right of way should be acquired and maintained to insure that Highway 371 pass through the existing city of Pequot Lakes. Economics, history and logic remain on the side of those who say that vision ought to be retained. A bypass is obviously more costly, it would violate long- standing plans,and it would simply insure that the city move a few blocks east More recently as the Crow Wing County Board of Commissioners Board representative on the Crow Wing County Planning Commission I listened in awe to the fervor of Pequot Lakes City and Sibley Township Officials who insisted on a "buffer strip" on township development south of Pequot to "preserve the forest atmosphere"that graced the entrance to the town. In recent days, some of these same voices support flattening 239 acres of that same forest to by-pass Pequot Lakes. Such hypocrisy in the face of this proposal astounds me. Keeping Highway 371 in its current alignment through Pequot Lakes and north is proper. It insures that hundreds of thousands of past planning dollars are not wasted along with the waste(dollars and trees) caused by bypassing the city. Sincerely, Paul M.Thiede Former Member, Minnesota House of Representatives Former Member,Crow Wing County Board of Commissioners L