Youth baseball fields, indoor training facility slated for land near Savage fen

Youth baseball fields and an indoor training facility are slated for land near a protected natural area in Savage, despite objections from local residents about possible environmental effects.

The City Council approved the project, brought forward by a company called MN MASH, on Monday.

The MN MASH complex, to be located at 6510 130th St., will include a 68,000-square-foot facility with an indoor baseball field, locker rooms and office space. A loading area and 100 parking spots are also planned.

"This has been our vision since 2012," said Steve McGuiggan, co-owner of MN MASH, or Making Athletes Sustainable Here, which has locations in Eagan and St. Cloud. "It's always been our goal to have a campus … where we control the setting."

The new MN MASH facility and fields will be directly south of the 289-acre Savage Fen Scientific and Natural Area, owned by the DNR. The protected area, between Minnesota Hwy. 13 and the Minnesota River in Scott County, is part of the 400-plus-acre Savage Fen Wetland Complex.

The proximity to that natural area prompted concerns from residents. "You've got the environmental area that will be impacted," said Charles Massie, who lives across from the fen. "It's just kind of a nice little sanctuary for [wildlife] and residents are concerned about that."

The DNR also questioned whether it had enough time to comment on the proposal.

"Due to the short notice … we are still coming to understand specific project details and respond with a thorough review of potential impacts to protected species," Melissa Collins, a regional environmental assessment ecologist for the state agency, wrote in an e-mail to the city's engineering firm. Calcareous fen "is the most rare and protected land type in Minnesota," Collins said in an interview. "It's just a very, very sensitive site."

Collins said the developer should have contacted the DNR and consulted the Natural Heritage Information System, a database of information on Minnesota's rare plants, animals and other features, at the project's start. That doesn't appear to have happened, she said.

Collins also raised concerns about the risks that netting used to trap foul balls could pose to birds and bats. She mentioned concerns about the deep footings required for lightposts and their impact on the fen's water quality, the effect of nighttime lighting on birds and recommended minimal tree removal. The project could affect Blanding's turtles, bald eagles, rare snakes and rusty patched bumblebees on site, she said.

McGuiggan said the project wouldn't be built in the fen, but near it, and added that there are many city and DNR processes the company must follow.

"We'll just make sure we do all the things we need to do for it to go in that area," he said. "I think it's going to be a community asset for sure."

The council's unanimous approval Monday included the vote of Mayor Janet Williams, whose brother owns the land the baseball complex would occupy. She said she consulted with the city attorney and was assured she could vote because she had no personal stake in the matter.

City Council Member Bob Coughlen said the land was going to be developed eventually. "I'd rather have something like this in our community," Coughlen said. "I think it'd be a good fit."

Erin Adler • 612-673-1781