Men Charged in Olander Murder to be Back in Court
More Bar-B-Q Days Photos
Legion Baseball Team on a Postseason Roll Page 13
Pages 2, 13, 14
Page 8
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOURTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, JULY 22, 2015
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 30
Kelly Smith to ‘Retire’ as B.P. School District Superintendent His Career Includes 30-Plus Years in Education
Belle Plaine School Board members unanimously accepted Superintendent Kelly Smith’s resignation during an “emergency session” Friday morning. After 30-plus years in education, 11 leading Belle Plaine’s public schools, Smith accepted a job as a client representative with Springsted Inc. Smith will serve the district through Friday, Aug. 28. His decision to leave the public sector was made a little easier by the school board’s decision to push an operating levy referendum off until 2016. Had the board decided to go to voters this fall for more money, Smith said he would have declined Springsted’s offer. The Minnesota Legislature increasing per-student funding by 2 percent over the next two years facilitated delaying an operating referendum. Smith said the time to switch to a less public line of work has arrived. His contract runs through next year. “I have always been proud to say that I was the superintendent of Belle Plaine Schools and will continue to be proud of
the work we have accomplished here,” S m i t h wrote in his letter of resignation. Smith arrived in Belle Plaine from the Red Wing School District. He and has wife, Chris, have had three children attend and graduate from Belle Plaine Junior-Senior High School. They plan to continue living in the community for the foreseeable future.
How to Proceed
Friday morning (July 17), the Belle Plaine School Board met to accept Smith’s letter of resignation and set the course for finding his successor. The board unanimously decided to post the position for internal and external candidates. The posting runs through Monday, July 27, at noon. That evening, directors will meet for their regular July meeting. After that meeting, they’ll review the submitted applications and resumes in closed session and decide which candidates to offer an interview. The interviews are scheduled
Kelly Smith
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2016 Street Improvement Project Cost Estimate is Over $1.4 Million The Belle Plaine City Council has scheduled Monday, Aug. 17 as the date for the public hearing on the city’s 2016 street and utility improvement project. It will begin shortly after 6:30 p.m. Proposed for next year are the reconstruction of Forest Street from its easterly terminus to Walnut Street; Oak Street from Court Street to Forest Street; and Court Street from its easterly terminus to Ash Street. City Engineer Joe Duncan told the council Monday night that the estimated cost of the project is $1,450,000. The city would pick up 75 percent of
the tab and the rest would come from assessments to benefitting property owners. Duncan told the council that portions of the project area are among the roughest in the city in terms of street condition, some of which were last paved in the late-1970s. Some of the infrastructure dates back to the 1950s and 60s. The public hearing is for residents to voice their opinion on the need for the project (or lack thereof). A “reasonable” estimate of the impact of the assessment to benefitting property owners will be available at the hearing.
Belle Plaine’s new royal court are, from left, Second Princess Haley Johnson, First Princess Kali Gorman, Miss Belle Plaine McKenzie Koepp and Miss Congeniality Nicole Bauleke.
Bar-B-Q Days Sales Down Slightly The weather wasn’t as hot and humid as forecasters had called for leading up to the start of this past weekend’s Bar-B-Q Days celebration, but the forecast alone may have scared off at least some out-of-towners, resulting in lower beef, beer and carnival ticket sales this year. A midnight thunderstorm, which included a tornado watch in parts of the area, brought a halt to what remained of Friday night’s festivities about an hour early. The rest of the weekend weather consisted of mostly clear skies and was rain-free, with temperatures on Saturday and Sunday in the lower- to mid-80s rather than the forecasted upper-80s to low-90s. The Beef Stand had total sales of $36,413.95 compared to $38,798.49 last year. Sandwiches cost $3.50 apiece, the same as in recent years. The Beer Garden, where all beverages cost the same as last year, had sales totalling $56,757.65, which was also slightly down from the 2014 total of 57,411.05. Carnival ride sales this year
City Council Agrees to Revise Market Efforts for Vacant Lot
Okays Purchase of City Entrance Monument
by Dan Ruud The Belle Plaine City Council Monday night unanimously agreed to include a price tag of sorts in its next quest to sell the city-owned vacant lot at the corner of Main and Meridian streets downtown. Mayor Mike Pingalore was absent and Council Member Scott Schneider was acting mayor for the meeting. Last October, the council voted 3-2 to authorize staff to purchase the lot, where an arson fire in October of 2005 destroyed the preexisting building at 100 South Meridian Street. The city purchased the lot from Waugh Properties LLC of Chanhassen for $45,000, plus commission and closing costs. Most of the funds for the pur-
chase came from tax increment financing (TIF), state money that the city was in excess of, and if not spent soon, would have had to be returned to the state. The marketing of the 0.18-acre parcel had been discussed by the city’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) on two occasions, during which discussions ranged from marketing it for $1 up to the actual cost to the city with the expectation the property be developed within the specifications and timeline of the city. It was agreed to market the property sale through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process, during which each potential buyer would submit a proposal to the city pursuant to development guidelines identified in the RFP. When the June 30 deadline to submit a RFP arrived, there were no offers. The EDA has since conducted a reassessment of the market-
ing of the lot, and came to the conclusion that the city should include an actual “asking price” in the next round of RFPs rather than potential buyers writing down an offer without knowing the amount others are offering. The EDA believes this will make the RFP clearer to potential buyers. “The EDA recommends the city offer the site with an asking price of $13,000 to be structured as a deferred loan against the property,” reported Joanne Foust of Municipal Development Group of New Prague, who the city hired to take on some of the responsibilities of the community development director until a replacement can
City Council
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totalled $59,034.50 compared to $64,993.50 last year. The totals for this year are preliminary gross sales and do not yet have all of the expenses calculated to determine profits. Beef Sales Friday $10,339.75 Saturday $14,843.05 Sunday $11,231.15 Total $36,413.95
2014 Total $38,798.49 Beer Garden Sales Friday $14,086.00 Saturday $27,130.00 Sunday $15,541.65 Total $56,757.65 2014 Total $57,411.05 Carnival Ride Sales 2015 Total $59,034.50 2014 Total $64,993.50
Saturday’s parade again attracted well over 100 entrants, the grand marshals for which were Bruce and Susie Volek. McKenzie Koepp was crowned Miss Belle Plaine at Sunday’s Coronation in the
Bar-B-Q Days
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2015 Scott County Fair Begins Its Five-Day Run Today
New Carousel, Carnival Among Top Additions
The Scott County Fair begins what it markets as the “Best Five Days of Summer” today (July 22) with a new attraction and a slant toward a younger, family-friendly approach. The county fair at the fairgrounds in St. Lawrence Township (7151 190th Street W.) and runs through Sunday (July 26). Crews have been working throughout the past few weeks transforming the fairgrounds into a welcoming collection of displays, vendor booths, a carnival and more. Norm Pint, the Scott County fair’s general manager is hoping for good weather. Last year, “between 28,000 and 30,000” people came to the county fair. “We’re hoping for a lot more,” he said. The fair’s marketing efforts include new, bright-colored signage and small signs placed along roadways throughout the area reminding people the fair is the last week of July. The star attraction to this year’s county fair is a new building housing a refurbished carousel. The 50-by-80 foot building is located just east of the Ferris wheel, known as “Big Eli.” Dick Ames, owner of Ames Construction, and a director on the Scott County Agricultural Society and fair board purchased the carousel earlier this year. “A few years ago, Dick told me to start looking for a carousel,” Pint said. “It’s a really good addition.” Mike Featherstone of Gold Star Manufacturing worked
A three-man crew assembled the Scott County Fair’s new carousel Friday afternoon. Dick Ames, owner of Ames Construction and a member of the fair’s board of directors, bought it for the fair. with John Dvorak of the Rice County Fair to find a suitable carousel. Featherstone used fiberglass to recreate panels on the 1950s-era carousel. Using aluminum carousel horses and light-emitting diode (LEDs) lights, the carousel is more efficient than traditional merrygo-rounds. After a month of work, the car-
ousel arrived at the fairgrounds Friday afternoon. A three-man crew set it up carefully. “Normally, they can set it up in three or four hours,” one crewman said. “Mr. Ames told us to take out time.” The carousel will not only
Scott Co. Fair
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