Scott County Financial Statement
Scott West Wins Big
Belle Plaine Girls’ Hoops Team Off to Good Start Page 13
Pages 10, 11, 12
Page 13
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, December 7, 2016
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 49
Council Tables Adding Meridian Street Trail to 2017 Street Project City to Receive Grant; Water and Sewer Rates to Increase
Santa Visits Santa and Mrs. Claus had a steady flow of visitors at the Belle Plaine Historical Society’s open house Thursday night at the Hooper-Bowler-Hillstrom House. More photos of the festivities appear on page 2.
Squirrel KOs Power, Leaves Belle Plaine, Area in the Dark A squirrel investigating a transformer in an Xcel Energy substation somehow shorted out the 69-kilovolt facility, leaving Belle Plaine and the surrounding area in the dark for part of the morning and earlyafternoon. Police and firefighters received a report of an explosion at the substation at the north end of Market Street in Belle Plaine just before 10 a.m. Saturday. Over 3,200 customers
served by the substation were immediately cast into the dark, according to an Xcel Energy spokesperson. Xcel Energy crews went to work to reroute power. Electricity to Xcel customers north of the Minnesota River was back on before noon. Customers south of the river were in the dark until around 2 p.m. The outage impacted participants at the Holiday Express at Belle Plaine Junior-Senior
High School. The school’s south gymnasium, media center and common area were being used for the events. Thanks to mild weather, doors were open allowing light to enter the gymnasium. Sunlight also entered the window-lined media center and common area. Firefighters came up to the school. They provided light for the gymnasium using generators on fire trucks.
by Dan Ruud In its second to final regular meeting of 2016, the Belle Plaine City Council Monday night tabled adding a proposed Meridian Street Trail to the 2017 street and utility improvement project. The trail would extend along the west side of Meridian Street from the new Enterprise Drive overpass southward to Century Street (approximately 2,600 feet) at an estimated cost of $80,000, which could be added as an alternate bid to the city’s 2017 street and utility improvement. City Administrator Mike Votca reported that there could be an added cost to the trail in that one lot of right-of-way may have to be acquired, for which no cost estimate has been provided. Because of that, Council Member Paul Chard suggested that the present council should leave that decision to the council that will be in place in January, which will include a new mayor and two new council members. Chard and Cary Coop will be the only two existing members still on the council at that time. However, Coop, who is in favor of the trail, requested that
the issue be placed back on the agenda at the next council meeting rather than after the first of the year. Council Member Henry Pressley Jr., who was serving as acting mayor in the absence of Mayor Mike Pingalore, cast the only no vote to table the trail issue. The bulk of the $1.2 millionplus 2017 street and utility improvement project will consist of the reconstruction and utility replacement of West Main Street between Buffalo and Crest streets, and Elk Street between West Main and State streets. About one-third of the cost for those improvements will be paid for by benefitting property owners and the rest by the city. In other business Monday night, the council unanimously authorized the execution of a memorandum of understanding with the Scott County Community Development Agency regarding 2017 economic development incentive (EDI) grants. Belle Plaine Community Development Director Cynthia Smith-Strack reported that the total grant award will be $65,300. “The Scott County Community Development Agency (CDA) is pleased to inform you that your EDI grant requests have been awarded to the city of Belle Plaine,” stated a Scott County CDA letter. The funds will be used for: 1. Extension of the north
sanitary interceptor sewer in the amount of $42,200, which requires a 1/2 minimum local match. The purpose of the project is to help induce development of approximately 1,000 acres within the city’s urban growth boundary. The scope of the project is limited to the portion of the interceptor sewer extension from 1st Street NE (current terminus) to the east side of Highway 169. 2. Preparation of street and utility construction documents for the proposed Buesgens Commercial Center in the amount of $23,100, which will also require a 1/2 minimum local match. The purpose of the project is to extend Enterprise Drive east of Hickory Boulevard, which is currently platted Buesgens Commercial Center. The site is located near the Coborn’s commercial complex. The intent of the project is to lure developers seeking shovelready parcels. Projects supported by Scott County CDA grants must be completed by Dec. 31, 2017. *Following a public hearing at which no one in the audience spoke, the council unanimously approved the city’s 2017 fee schedule. Among the changes is an increase in water and sewer utility fees, which for a residential user, will equate to an increase of $4.41 per month for sewer and $1.85 per month
Street Project
(continued on page 2)
Holiday Delivery Holiday Express Midian Fahey, a third-grader, was checking out possible gifts for mom and dad with the help of Elliana Fahey at Saturday’s (Dec. 3) Holiday Express at Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School. Children at Holiday Express also had the chance to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, work on a Christmas craft and enjoy snacks. The event was sponsored by Belle Plaine Festivals and Events, Parent Teacher Organization and Early Childhood Family Education. (Below) Friday (Dec. 2), BPHS choir students performed holiday songs for State Bank of Belle Plaine guests at the bank’s annual holiday open house.
Belle Plaine Public Works staffers and a crew from John’s Mobil delivered the Santa House to the vacant lot at the southwest corner of Main and Meridian streets Friday morning (Dec. 2). The Santa House will be open Fridays Dec. 9 (5:30 to 7:30 p.m.) and Dec. 16 (4:30 to 6:30 p.m.). The Santa House is tentatively set to be open Saturday, Dec. 17, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Fire Destroys Tractor in Blakeley Farm Field
Fire destroyed a mid-1990s era John Deere tractor as it was tilling a harvested field in Blakeley Township Saturday afternoon. Firefighters received a report of the fire just before 4:10 p.m. They found it in a field along Raven Road near 270th Street. The operator escaped the cab unharmed. Firefighters extinguished the flames when they arrived. The John Deere tractor was a total loss, said Belle Plaine Fire Chief Matt Stier. Firefighters are uncertain where the fire started or how it spread. “It was too burned up,” Stier said.
City’s 2017 Property Tax Levy Increase Will be Less Than Proposed The Belle Plaine City Council Monday night approved a final 2017 property tax levy that will be lower than the preliminary levy. In September, the council approved a preliminary 2017 property tax levy of $5,232,445, which would have been a 7.4 percent increase over this year’s levy of $4,871,139. City Finance Director Dawn Meyer told the council then that unpaid assessments of $131,000 for West Commerce Drive was among the factors leading to the 2017 levy increase. Since then, those assessments have been paid and added to the
2017 budget, allowing the levy to drop from an increase of 7.4 percent to 4.72 percent. Meyer said that among the factors attributed to the 4.72 percent levy increase are cost of living wage increases of 2.75 percent for a number of city employees and council members, increased services for a growing population and inflation. Monday night’s truth-in-taxation public hearing that preceded the council’s vote was an opportunity for citizens to comment on the city’s planned property tax levy and budget for the coming year. No one from the audience addressed the council.