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Shayla Blaschko, 322 E Coflax, stated a few years ago in Milwaukee a group of residents came forward with a plan to reinvigorate and preserve their parks. The fruits of that labor became the Urban Ecology Center, a hub of nature education and conservation. She stated the time has come for South Bend to energize our local parks and learn from our neighbors up north and begin the process of enforcing and educating our residents on the benefits of nature. She asked why we cannot start with Elbel in realizing this goal. She stated she is a teacher at Muessel Primary Center and for five years was a program director for a summer camp in Minnesota. During her time in these roles she has seen children grow in responsibility, in stewardship, increase their problem solving skills, and learn to enjoy healthy recreation activities. She stated research has shown access to parks has shown children have better grades, less drug use, and profound mental and physical health benefits. She requested that the Common Council should share her vision for what parks can become in South Bend. Margaret Pfeil, 511 S. St. Joseph St., she opposed this bill and asks that the Council appoint a commission to study this issue. She stated she has concerns in two areas regarding this process. The first is procedural, the manner in which this was rushed considering this is a quarter of the city's park land. She asked what is the rush of this sale even to the extent of leaving people out of the minutes. She stated this needs to be addressed as a meta issue in our community and a structural solution needs to be found. Secondly, she expressed concern that we cannot survive without the goods of creation. She stated we are designed to function with eco system integrity. She stated humans are designed to work with, not against, creation. She stated we do not have to trade off social goods, like splash pads in the city, with natural goods that we might find at Elbel. She stated we cannot pit inner city kids against preservation of nature. She stated she is really enjoying the conversation today and once again asked for the Council to institute a commission to study this issue. Ricky Klee, 2010 Hollwood Place South Bend, stated that the very first goal of the Master Plan is in fact "Preserve" not "Maintain ". He stated preserve is not French for sell. He stated at a meeting on April 22 a land trust had expressed interest in partnering with the city to preserve Elbel and the city had absolutely no interest in partnering with a land trust. He stated that when the administration says there is no path to partnering with a land trust that it is because the administration has not pursued that option. He stated that path has not been developed because the city is so focused on the sale of Elbel. He stated the Master Plan is so important because it was developed with huge input from the residents of South Bend and in that Master Plan there is clear evidence that the city wants more trail use, hiking areas, and other walking trails. He stated double the number of golfers use hiking trails than golfers use golf courses. In that Master Plan residents put a high priority on those types of walking and biking trails. He stated if the administration wants to adhere to the Parks Master Plan it should evaluate the loss of Elbel in that light as well. Andrew Tucker, 127 S. 34th St. South Bend, stated that the city has acknowledged a priority to maintain our environmental resources in this city. He stated the timeline that was presented by the administration has no real consideration of the environmental impact, there has been no study whatsoever about the impact that a sale could have on the natural species at Elbel. He stated the language as is currently in the ordinance contains no reference to any provision for ecological integrity. He stated once we lose public ownership of this site we lose all recourse to maintain Ci