The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota, a low-tax, less-government think tank founded in 2006, surveyed the proposals for stimulus funds from across the state and determined what it considered the 10 worst requests.

On the list are: a $1.5 million clubhouse and maintenance facility for a Roseville golf course, $300,000 to upgrade tennis courts in suburban Shorewood, and $750,000 for a state-of-the-art skateboarding park in St. Cloud.

"We were surprised to find that some communities evidently consider golf, skateboarding and tennis facilities to be critical infrastructure needs," said Tom Steward, investigative director for the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota.  "It begs the question:  Are these public works, or public play, projects?"

Steward, a former Twin Cities television news reporter, is a former press secretary for Norm Coleman and was the Minnesota spokesman for the John McCain presidential campaign last year.

Minnesota cities were among those from around the country to submit "ready-to-go" infrastructure projects.

A report from FFM said many requests focus on such basic infrastructure projects as bridges, roads, schools and government buildings, but the group also found proposals for taxpayer-supported "traffic calming" elements and public art in St. Paul, a greenhouse gas tracking program in Burnsville, and nearly 13,000 new water meters for St. Louis Park residents.
 
"This only scratches the surface when it comes to all the proposals pouring in from cities, counties, and states for stimulus funding," Steward said.  "There's a frenzy to submit so-called 'ready-to-go' projects for stimulus funding.  Unfortunately, some projects on this list are ready to go no further than back to the drawing board, if not the recycle bin.  These dubious requests underscore the urgent need for greater scrutiny and absolute transparency in this process across the board."

Here's the group's list of 10 Worst Economic Stimulus Requests Made by Minnesota Cities and its take on the projects:

10 – Shorewood, $300,000   
Tennis court improvement and rehab -- A backhand shot from a prosperous southwestern suburb that should be vigorously returned by taxpayers.

9 -- St. Paul, $2.1 million
Western Avenue reconstruction, "including bike facilities, traffic calming elements" and "public art" -- An artful attempt to have patrons, a.k.a. taxpayers, underwrite the collaboration of St. Paul public works engineers and artists in creating fun sculptures, playful signs, "traffic calming elements" and bike facilities.

8 – Burnsville, $50,000   
Greenhouse gas tracking program -- How exactly does a city-run greenhouse gas tracking program stimulate the economy?

7 -- St. Cloud, $150,000
Street sign upgrade program -- The state has mandated that street sign lettering be 150 millimeters for capital letters and 113 millimeters for lower-case letters.  A case of a city government asking the federal government for funds to comply with a state government mandate to replace signs that were already pointing the right way and doing the job.

6 – Hanover, $750,000     
LED streetlight conversion -- How many years’ worth of city electric bills will it take to pay off the $750,000 cost of changing the bulbs in this city with an estimated population of about 2,500?

5 -- St. Louis Park, $3.5 million    
New water meters for St. Louis Park residents -- The city wants to open the federal tap to give 12,800 water customers new water meters and install remote meter-monitoring equipment.

4 – Roseville, $1.5 million    
New clubhouse and maintenance shop for city golf course -- Roseville's city-run Cedarholm Golf Course, a 9-hole, par 3 course, lost more than $800,000 between 2000 and 2007 (years inclusive).  Why should all taxpayers be asked to "chip in" even more money at this losing enterprise?

3 – Burnsville,     $550,000     
Nicollet Commons water feature rehab -- Burnsville expects taxpayers to open the federal floodgates for a $550,000 upgrade for the water fountains and sculptures in its highly touted town-square-style park.
 
2 – Duluth, $6 million     
Spirit Mountain snowmaking and maintenance facility -- This multimillion-dollar snow job attracted national media attention to Duluth.

1-- St. Cloud, $750,000     
Skateboarding Park -- Ever since a local entrepreneur closed the doors of his skate park in 2006, enthusiasts in St. Cloud have tried to raise a quarter of a million dollars to start building a huge state-of-the-art skate park "plaza." The city even agreed to carry donors' debt for four years, but donations -- to use skateboarding terminology -- continue to "grind" along well short of their goal.  So the city has done a "kick turn" and asked taxpayers to foot the bill for the entire project.  Taxpayers need to become familiar with another skateboard term and "grab" their wallets.