Three Rivers Board Thanks Commissioner Steele for her Service

The Three Rivers Park District Board of Commissioners thanked Commissioner Penny Steele for her service on the Board at its meeting on Feb. 21. Steele resigned her position as Commissioner effective Jan. 31 because she moved out of her Commissioner district.

Steele served on the Three Rivers Board for six years; during that time, she chaired the Board’s Recreation, Education and Natural Resources Committee from 2013-2017. She championed Park District efforts to ensure that all residents of suburban Hennepin County have opportunities to utilize Three Rivers’ facilities and programming in their communities, including the Explorer program, which brings day-camp programming to the communities the Park District serves, and partner parks that offer outdoor recreation opportunities for residents of communities previously underserved by Park District facilities.

“I truly believe your advocacy made a big difference in moving those projects along,” Board Chair John Gunyou told Steele at the meeting. “I think that was a true legacy that you left.”

She also introduced many young people to environmental stewardship and outdoor education by helping them experience Park District facilities. A resolution of appreciation approved by the Board on Feb. 21 also noted Steele’s leadership on fiscal matters and the thoughtful guidance she provided throughout her tenure.

She was first elected to the Three Rivers Board in 2012. Prior to her service on the Three Rivers Board, Steele served as a Hennepin County Commissioner for 14 years and chaired several metropolitan (multi-county) joint powers boards, including the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District, the 911 Board, the Metropolitan Emergency Services Board, and the Refuse Derived Fuel Board.

Steele represented District 1, which includes Corcoran, Greenfield, Hanover, Independence, Long Lake, Loretto, Maple Plain, Medicine Lake, Medina, Minnetrista, Minnetonka Beach, Mound, New Hope, Plymouth, Rockford, Rogers, Spring Park, St. Bonifacius, Wayzata and most of Orono.