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8079 Meurer Peed Cross Plains.WI 53528 August 25, 1991 Ms.Shary Bisgard,Supervisor District 19 2‘, 1991 1 Julia Circle Madison,WI 53705 ' ZasNIAL Dear Ms. Bisgard: I live on Maurer Road in Cross Plains Township. Clara Maurer and her son Tom are my neighbors. I am aware that the Maurers have a petition, *5026, before the Dane County Zoning and Natural Resource Committee requesting that 6 acres, more or less, be rezoned so Elizabeth and Johan Glaaser can build a retirement home on the home farm when they decide to do so. Their petition,if approved by the Zoning Committee,would complete a promise made by the late Ernie Maurer to his daughter Elizabeth many years ago. Several weeks ago the Maurers told me of the dilemma regarding their petition and raised interesting questions that could not be answered with available information. As a friend and neighbor, I offered to help them find answers to their questions. A call to Ann Walden,Clerk,Cross Plains Township confirmed that the appropriate forms had been forwarded to Dane County Zoning by Walter Haack,Town Chairman, regarding the Maurer petition. I believe this action took place after May 14. Subsequent discussions with Mark Schroeder and Bill Fleck indicated that there was no legal basis for a connection between the Ice Age Trail request and the Maurer petition for rezoning 6 acres of land. However,the Zoning Committee had no information on the Maurer's position regarding the Ice Age Trail request. It was reported that Chairman Bisgard got "cut off" by the Maurers and that they wouldn't consider the Ice Age Trail request. Bill Fleck felt a letter from the Maurer famil y which stated their position on this matter would be of help to the Zoning Committee. That letter has now been written. As I have been told,the Maurer family deliberated a long time about allowing the trail through their land when originally approached by the Ice Age Trail organization some time prior to March 11, 1987.The original proposal by the organization seemed to be for a 10'wide trail along Timber Lane. When the draft of the proposal was sent by William P.O'Connor,of The O'Connor Law Office,the trail corridor proposed was three rods (49.5 feet) wide. When I talked with Gary Werner on August 8, 1991 he indicated the trail corridor to be 1/4 mile wide, involving approximately 30 to 40 acres of the Maurer property. I requested detailed information on the Ice Age Trail proposal along with a map clearly indicating the location of the trail and the proposed trail corridor. Shortly after August 13,and a second call for the information, I received an aerial map indicating the long term plan for the trail through the Maurer property. Clara and Tom also received a copy of the map the day before mine arrived. An accompanying letter received by them now described a 1 f2 mile wide trail corridor! By Tom's esti mate the most recent proposal would involve approximately 85 acres of their farm. Attached find a copy of the aerial map including the current proposal for the Maurer property as well as an insert of the proposed trail in 1987. It should enable you to study the information given the Maurer family. As Clara Maurer wondered the other day,why don't they just lay their cards on the table? In my opinion it is important for the Zoning Committee to realize the Maurer family has been dealt with in a most indirect manner. I believe they have made a decision not to participate in the Ice Age Trail project because of the increasing amount of land involved in the project each time they were approached. Their decision should be respected and not interpreted as an unwillingness to consider the Ice Age Trail proposal. Another point needs to be made. In my August 8 discussion with Gary Werner he indicated that the proposed trail corridor (1/4 mile wide) would come just to the eastern edge of the property