Bar-B-Q Days Medallion Hunt Starts on Page 4
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
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BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, JUNE 29, 2016
NUMBER 27
Council to Hold Public Hearing on Amendment to Ridgeview Plan July 5
Belle Plaine Police Chief Tom Stolee, center, accepted the League of Minnesota Cities Excellence Award for “Creative Public Safety Programs.” Also attending the June 16 ceremony in St. Paul was Belle Plaine Mayor Mike Pingalore, who is pictured second from left. At the far left is Steve Nasby, past League of Minnesota Cities president and city administrator of Windom; Jo Emerson, League of Minnesota Cities first vice president and mayor of White Bear Lake; and Rhonda Pownell, current League of Minnesota Cities president and city council member in Northfield.
One of the Belle Plaine City Council’s first orders of business coming out of the long holiday weekend next Tuesday will be to hold a public hearing on a proposed change to the planned unit development and replat for the soon-to-beconstructed Ridgeview Health Campus in Belle Plaine. Final plans, which were approved by the council on June 20, call for a mixed-use development that will include a three-story, 54-unit senior independent living center, a 12,900square-foot medical clinic with future vertical expansion, and a 10,000-square-foot health and wellness center. Construction of the complex, which will be located near the intersection of Highway 169 and County Road 3/Meridian Street, is expected to begin this summer. However, it was noted in the council’s packet on June 20
that Ridgeview Medical Center and The Lutheran Home Association will be introducing a proposed planned unit development amendment and replat of the health campus. The proposed replat includes a new lot that would create the potential to transfer fee ownership of the lot to a different property owner. Belle Plaine Community Development Director Cynthia Smith-Strack noted in the report that the new parcel would be owned by private investors and would be taxable, but it is the intent of The Lutheran Home Association to purchase the land within the next five years, at which time The Lutheran Home would propose to change the property from taxable to tax exempt. During a recent workshop, Ridgeview Vice President John Prondzinski explained that Ridgeview had been seeking the
YMCA as a partner, which did not materialize and Ridgeview pursued other options. City Council Member Cary Coop expressed concern over the fact that the city provided a business subsidy to Ridgeview with the intent of increasing the city’s tax base, and that now it appears a portion of the development could become tax exempt. Despite concerns by Coop and possibly other council members about the proposed taxexempt status of the new lot (if approved), Smith-Strack said Monday that she’s optimistic the issue will be resolved and that she “looks forward to the project breaking ground this July or August.” Mayor Mike Pingalore echoed that, saying in no way does he see the issue as a deal-breaker. Next Tuesday’s public hearing will begin shortly after 6:30 p.m.
Belle Plaine Again on Short List Scott County Board Commits of Cities to Win Excellence Award to 3-Year Pilot Drug Court Green Isle Part of Group Award
For a second year in a row, Belle Plaine has earned a City of Excellence Award from the League of Minnesota Cities. Last year, Belle Plaine was one of four cities in the state to win the award for its development of the Community Archery Park. This year, it won the award for its Tiger Watch Program. The awards were presented last week at the League of Minnesota Cities annual conference in St. Paul (see photo). To compete for consideration as a City of Excellence, cities self-nominate a project, program or initiative that was administered to achieve one or more of the following – improvement of the quality of a city service, development of an effective or innovative way to solve an old or common problem, modification of a program from another community or organization to fit city needs, discovery of a way to save the city money without compromising service results, and/or creative involvement of city staff or citizens in making a decision.
Winning entries this year were chosen in three population categories and in a special topical category. A description of each winning nomination follows: Topical category – Creative Programs in Public Safety Services City of Belle Plaine – “Tiger Watch Program” Tiger Watch is a community program designed to enhance the safety of young residents. The concept for the program was developed by Belle Plaine Police Chief Tom Stolee. It involves the identification of public facilities– city buildings, vehicles and schools – along with participating local businesses as safe havens for children who are lost or whose safety is immediately threatened. City staff and other participants at the approved facilities have gone through background checks and have been trained to be the first contact, and will stay with the child until parents or police arrive to assist. Facilities participating in the program are visually indicated with a “Tiger Watch Safe Zone” decal in the window. Children or vulnerable adults who feel
threatened are encouraged to seek facilities displaying the decal for safety. Tiger Watch is a successful public/private partnership that could easily be replicated in other communities. By engaging a network of schools, businesses and places of worship, the city helped to create a broader venue for community safety. Population Under 5,000 Oak Park Heights – “From Pit to Park Project” The city worked with volunteers, local businesses and residents to turn a vacant, closed fly ash landfill pit into a new city park. The city also formed a task force of residents to create a formal plan that included suggested amenities to be located on the site, including a new playground, parking lot, trails and a picnic pavilion. The park was funded with the help of a grant from Kaboom! Inc., and the city collaborated with the state of Minnesota, Xcel Energy and a local business to design and construct an
Excellence Award (continued on page 8)
Up to $900K Program Will Begin This Fall
Hoping to reduce the number of potentially expensive drug cases and jail time, the Scott County Board is going to try a drug court beginning this fall. Last Tuesday (June 21), commissioners formally committed up to $900,000 over the next three years to fund a pilot program. They hope it will reduce recidivism and the number of people taking up space in county jail cells. Besides commissioners, the program has the support of district court judges Christian Wilton and Rex Stacey, police, the sheriff’s office, the Southwest Metro Drug Task Force, the county attorney’s office and public defenders. “This is a much more intensive program,” said Tim Cleveland, director of Scott County Community Corrections. Typically, a person convicted of a drug-related crime will do some jail time, 180 days on average, deal with a chemical use assessment, possibly treatment and some level of random testing as part of a sentence. Cleveland said national statistics show 77 percent of offenders who go through the
standard program are arrested again within three years. Those stats show that three-fourths of drug court grads remain arrestfree for at least two years after completing the program. In a drug court, offenders are spared jail time in exchange for more intensive supervision. They are subject to far more rigorous testing – twice a week in addition to more intensive supervision over 14 to 24 months, Cleveland said. The program will be open to men and women who have been convicted of serious drug crimes, probation violations and offenses related to a drug habit, like burglary or theft. The program is not open to violent offenders, Cleveland said. “We’re focusing on high-risk, high-need offenders. This is not for someone with a first-time fifth-degree possession.”
Exploding Caseloads
The program comes at a time when Scott County District Court has seen an 85 percent increase in the number of felonylevel drug cases between 2011 and 2015. In actual numbers, Scott County District Court saw 216 drug cases in 2011. By 2015, that number had increased to 399 cases. Most of the growing number of drug cases involves metham-
phetamine and heroine. In a presentation to the county board last month proponents of the drug court said “what we are doing isn’t working.” The presentation cited the “revolving door” of incarceration and inconsistency between judges. Judges Stacey and Wilton are the two district court judges who will handle drug court cases. Stacey has first-hand personal experience with the impact of heroin. His daughter, Anna, passed away following a
Drug Court
(continued on page 6)
Grand Marshal Named for BBQ Days Parade Belle Plaine’s 58th annual BarB-Q Days celebration will take place July 15-17. The grand marshal of this year’s parade is Bill Kruschke. Among the featured events returning this year are the Friday evening Horse Show, Saturday’s morning’s Bull Run followed by the parade at noon, and Sunday’s 4 p.m. Queen Coronation. The festivities will wrap up with the always popular Spectacular Fireworks Display.
Mid-July Opening? Workers from S.M. Hentges and Sons of Jordan continue to make steady progress on the construction of the overpass near the intersection of Highway 169 and County Road 3/Meridian Street in Belle Plaine. The bridge deck and its road approaches are nearing completion and, according to Belle Plaine Mayor Mike Pingalore, the bridge could to be open to traffic by midJuly in time for Bar-B-Q Days. Last September, S.M. Hentges and Sons was awarded the project at the low bid of $3,179,966.84, which was over $1.2 million below the city engineer’s construction estimate of $4,387,703. An aerial photo of the bridge appears on page 14.
New Kitchen Countertops
The Belle Plaine Fire Department held a recognition event last Wednesday to recognize a number of improvements that were made recently to the interior of the fire hall. Among those improvements were new kitchen countertops donated by Cambria valued at approximately $12,000. Pictured, from left, are Matt Stier (fire chief 1), Steve Otto (fire chief 2), Gary Trost (city council member), Mike Pingalore (mayor), Craig Nelson (Cambria technical services manager), Troy (Otto (fire department member) and Brian Siekmann (fire chief 3).