BPHS Girls’ Hoops Team Finishes Regular Season Strong
Shamrock Coin Hunt Starts on Page 5
BPHS Boys’ Basketball Team Gets No. 5 Seed Page 11
Page 11
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-SIXTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, march 1, 2017
75¢ SINGLE COPY
NUMBER 9
City Expects Limited Public Forum Policy Will Stand Up Cross Expected to be Returned Soon
by Dan Ruud Supporters for return the cross to Veterans Memorial Park left the Belle Plaine City Council chambers happy last Tuesday night as the council voted 3-1 in favor of an amended resolution that will allow the cross to soon be returned to the memorial in
the park. The changes will also make it more difficult for individuals or organizations with little or no affiliation with Belle Plaine to successfully apply for their own monument. Mayor Chris Meyer and council members Theresa McDaniel and Ben Stier voted yes. Cary Coop voted no and Paul Chard was absent. One of the key revisions to the policy states: “The city designates a lim-
Friday (Feb. 24), Belle Plaine’s Ben Gregory finished welding the cross back on the veterans memorial for Veterans Park.
ited public forum in Veterans Memorial Park for the express purpose of allowing individuals or organizations to erect and maintain privately-owned displays that honor and memorialize living or deceased veterans, branch of military and veterans organizations affiliated with Belle Plaine.” Another revision to the policy is that only 10 displays will be allowed at a time, not 18. You must also apply to the city to have a display placed in the limited public forum, which the Belle Plaine Veterans group(s) did last Wednesday, also paying the $100 application fee. The city will continue to process requests “in the order they are received.” The new resolution also makes no requirement of having to have a cement platform installed for the display, which cannot be larger 3 feet wide by 2 feet deep by 3 feet tall. Although changes to the resolution will make it more difficult for national organizations, including the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), to successfully apply for their own monument in Veterans Park, no one on the council or
Public Forum
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Members of the Belle Plaine City Council and School Board met Friday evening (Feb. 24) to discuss the possibility of creating a community center, most likely on school district-owned land. It would ideally be a catalyst for residential and commercial growth in the community.
B.P., District See Community Center as Catalyst to Growth City, School District to Work on Committee Application
Hoping to enjoy a similar kind of growth Chaska, Shoreview and other communities enjoyed in the early-1990s, the school district and city are looking to a community center as an amenity that will help draw people to Belle Plaine. The feeling is a community center would be one of the amenities making Belle Plaine a more attractive destination for visitors and a community where people will want to raise a fam-
ily. The envisioned growth of the city from about 6,700 toward a population of 10,000 would help attract more corporate chain businesses that would support a larger community and relieve some of the tax burden a growth community faces. The notion Belle Plaine could one day enjoy a community center, most likely on land the school district owns near the tennis-football-track athletic complex and Oak Crest Elementary School on West Commerce Drive was the topic of a joint meeting between the city council and school board Friday evening (Feb. 24). Without an objection to the concept, the two elected bodies informally
agreed to jointly begin working on the creation of a blind application process where people could express interest in serving on a committee to help solidify and shape the vision of what a community center might include. Mayor Chris Meyer is concerned the discussion will have people fearing an imminent tax hike. He wants residents to think about what they want for their community as it grows. Meyer stressed no decisions have been made. “It’s a discussion,” he said. Belle Plaine and its school dis-
Growth
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Council Okays Monument Signage for Ridgeview Health Complex Another Step Approved to Light Downtown Trees from Ground Up
Scott West’s qualifiers for the state Class 2A individual tournament are, from left, Jack Fogarty, Tyler Shackle, Tyler Buesgens, Parker Huss and Jackson Stauffacher.
Five Panthers Qualify for State Individual Wrestling Tourney Scott West Takes on Totino-Grace in Team Quarterfinals 9 a.m. Thursday
by Dan Ruud Three Section 2AA Individual Wrestling Tournament champions and two runners-up will represent Scott West at this Friday’s and Saturday’s Minnesota State High School Class 2A Individual Tournament at Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. Winning championships in their respective weight classes at this past Saturday’s section individual tournament at Waseca High School for Scott West and their respective weight classes were junior Jackson Stauffacher (126), sophomore Tyler Shackle (132) and junior Tyler Buesgens (182). Also qualifying individually for state by placing second in their weight classes were senior Parker Huss (138) and junior Jack Fogarty (145). This year’s section individual tournament was wrestled entirely in one day on Saturday.
A winter storm in Waseca and elsewhere in southern Minnesota forced the cancellation of the traditional Friday evening session, making for a long, busy day of wrestling on Saturday. Last year, Stauffacher advanced all the way to the 126pound championship, where he lost to unbeaten Tucker Sjomeling of Delano, who is wrestling at 132 pounds this year. In 2015, Stauffacher placed fourth in his weight division. Shackle is making his first appearance in the state individual tournament, while Buesgens is making his second after placing fourth last year. Huss placed fourth in his weight class at the 2015 state individual tournament. For a second straight year, sophomore Justin Stauffacher (120) just missed the state cut by placing third. Fellow sophomore Calvin Menke (220) also placed third (see section recap story inside). According to The Guillotine’s latest rankings on Feb. 24, Buesgens (25-2) is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 2A at 182 pounds but received the No. 2 seed for the state individual
tourney. The top seed is Jared Florell of Totino-Grace (37-2). Jackson Stauffacher is ranked No. 2 at 126 pounds and is the No. 2 seed for the state tournament behind Jake Gliva of Simley (41-2). Huss is ranked No. 5 at 138 and Fogarty is No. 9 at 145. Shackle was not ranked in The Guillotine’s latest rankings. The first two rounds of the state Class 2A individual tournament will be held Friday, followed by the semifinals and championships on Saturday. The first day of the tournament (Thursday) will be devoted to the team tournaments, after which all three champions (Class 1A, 2A and 3A) will be crowned (see accompanying Class 2A team schedules). Below is a listing of Friday’s individual Class 2A tourney first-round match ups involving Scott West wrestlers (season records are in parenthesis). Class 2A first-round matches start at
Five Panthers
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by Dan Ruud The Belle Plaine City Council last Tuesday night voted 4-0 (Paul Chard was absent) to approve sign variances for the Ridgeview Medical Center/ Lutheran Home Health Campus that is currently under construction near the intersection of Highway 169 and County Road 3/Meridian Street in Belle Plaine. Ridgeview requested an increase in maximum sign squarefootage (from 150 to 200) for two freestanding monument signs that will be positioned near Meridian Street South and Commerce Drive West, both of which will be 200 square feet (see accompanying drawing). Staff reported that the situation to which the variances relate is unique in that the uniform sign plan relates to the health campus, which will be a mixed-use and residential planned-unit development consisting of 55 residential dwellings, a up to three-story medical complex, and 10,000 square feet of health and wellness space to be leased to a variety of users. “As such, the uniform signs relate to all uses on the property as opposed to a single sign for each use of the property, resulting in a consistent design product and a reduced number of signs overall,” stated staff’s report. No one spoke at the public hearing that preceded the council’s vote. In another agenda item related to the Ridgeview/Lutheran Home campus, the council adopted an assessment policy for water and sewer connection fees associated with the project. The connection fees total
$401,720, of which Ridgeview will pay 20 percent ($80,344). The remainder of the fees will be assessed equally over six years at the prime interest rate (set annually on Dec. 1). In other business last Tuesday night, the council unanimously authorized staff to obtain quotes for components for lighting downtown trees along city sidewalks from the ground up. Last summer, the council authorized the city engineering firm of Bolton and Menk to prepare plans for a design committee proposal to uplight eight (possibly up to 14) trees in downtown Belle Plaine. Public Works Superintendent Al Fahey reported that rather than “hanging” lights on the trees for decorative purposes, a viable alternative is to uplight the trees from the ground up with LED lights. The lights would be installed in-ground with the availability of colored light streams. “Last year, the design committee asked to look into the
possibility of lighting the trees downtown for aesthetics and safety,” reported Public Works Superintendent Al Fahey. “The committee looked into different options and decided that uplighting could possibly be the best long-term solution.” Fahey added that the estimated cost for 32 lights and controllers is $40,000, while installation ($20,000) and stamped-colored concrete ($20,000) brings the total estimated cost of the project to $80,000. The city will utilize $13,000 donated by the chamber of commerce to help pay for the cost. Reallocated general capital funds will cover the remaining cost, which Fahey said will be reimbursed through future donations pledged by the chamber of commerce. Plans are to have the lights installed and the trees lit later this year. *Unanimously approved the plans and specifications and authorized the advertisement
City Council
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