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www.thisweeklive.com
AUGUST 2, 2008
VOLUME 29, NO. 23
City could terminate orphanage plan
In light of funding woes, Mary Jo Copeland says controversial children's home is a no go for now
by Erin Johnson
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
The Eagan City Council
will decide Aug. 4 whether
o terminate its approval
>f a controversial children's
some that has been unable
o secure enough funding to
;et off the ground.
Mary Jo Copeland, who
ought to get approval for
i 200 -bed orphanage called
iift of Mary children's
:come, has acknowledged
the project has stalled in-
Jefinitely.
"Until the system will ad-
rnit there's a need out there,
It's not going to happen,"
she said.
Copeland's husband,
Richard, sent a letter to the
city in April conceding the
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money was just not there for The project's preliminary
the project. planned development ex-
Orphanage/from 1A
Groups such as the
North American Council
on Adoptable Children
and the National Coali-
tion for Child Protection
Reform claimed that insti-
tutionalizing children has
proven detrimental in the
long run.
Gift of Mary was
planned as a privately run
group home, set up as 20
individual townhomes.
Each townhome would ac-
commodate up to 10 chil-
dren, a married teaching
couple and a family assis-
tant to live with the chil-
dren around the clock.
Plans also included a
community center that
would house a K-12 pri-
vate school, a teen center,
pired last year, and Richard
Copeland wrote that the
couple did not wish to ex-
tend the term of the planned
development at this time.
The Eagan Planning
Commission on July 22
unanimously recommended
terminating the agreement
and rezoning the land to ag-
riculture.
The council will vote on
the issue Aug. 4.
Gift of Mary was esti-
mated to cost $35 , million
just to build — not including
operating costs — when it
was approved in 2002.
Copeland has raised only
$10 million so far. She lost a
$5 million pledge from Best
Buy founder Richard Schul-
ze that expired in 2006 be-
cause she couldn't raise $2.5
million in matching grants.
"Controversy does a lot
to stop funding for things,"
she said.
Copeland spent nearly
two years seeking land on
which to build Gift of Mary,
encountering resistance to
the project at every turn.
After proposals fell
through in Brooklyn Cen-
ter, Brooklyn Park, Victoria
and Chaska, Eagan's then -
mayor Pat Awada invited
her to come to Eagan.
Copeland found support
for the project from some
political heavy -hitters, in-
cluding Gov. Tim Pawlenty,
while many child advocate
groups spoke out against it.
See Orphanage, 3A
recreational facilities, a
chapel and a gymnasium.
While Copeland hasn't s
given up on the idea of a
children's home entirely,
she realizes it is not likely
to happen in the near fu-
ture.
"I sure fought the good
fight, though, and stood
up for the kids," she said.
Copeland still owns
the land, about 37 acres
between Highway 55 and
Lone Oak Road near the
Inver Grove Heights bor-
der, which she said she
will never sell.
"That is 40 acres of
beautiful land," she said.
"Some good will come of
that land someday."
The land is currently
being used as a field trip
destination for children;-
who live at Mary's Place,
Copeland's transitional
helter in Minneapolis.
"This is a great place
for the inner-city kids to
experience the open out-
doors, with all its wonder,
Z
plants, ponds,
trees, gardens and trails,"
Richard Copeland wrote
In his letter to the city.
"We plan to continue to
use it this way in the fu-
ture."
If and when the couple
secures the money to build
the children's home, they
would come back to the
city to get the necessary
approvals for the project,
he wrote.
Erin Johnson is at eagan.
thisweek@ecm-inc. com.