City Adds to Public Works Staff
Walkers Hope to Bring More Attention to River Cleanup Page 14
All-MRC Speech, Girls’ Hoops Teams Page 13
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ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIFTH YEAR
BELLE PLAINE, MINNESOTA, MARCH 23, 2016
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NUMBER 12
County Planning Commission Tables Blakeley Solar Garden Tile Lines, Other Questions Cast Shadow Over Project; Helena Garden Gets OK
Belle Plaine High School student-athletes removed debris from the demolition of a wall between the north side of the weight room and a hallway in the basement of the junior-senior high building Saturday afternoon and Monday. The debris was removed in five-gallon buckets carried upstairs to a trailer. RTL Construction of Shakopee donated about $4,500 in manpower for the demolition. The expanded weight room will make way for new equipment funded primarily by donations for use by physical-education classes and BPHS athletes.
B.P. Man’s Company Carries Big Load in BPHS Weight Room Project
RTL Construction Donate About $4,500 in Manpower
Sitting around a community campfire chatting with neighbors last summer, Shawn Larson heard some of his neighbors -- coaches and phy-ed teachers at Belle Plaine High School -as they talked about a dream of upgrading the high school’s weight room. Larson, who spent six seasons playing for the Belle Plaine Tigers town baseball club, is also assistant vice president with RTL Construction, a Shakopeebased commercial contracting firm. The company is donating about 80 hours of cumulative staff time working on the demolition of the weight room. The district estimates the dona-
tion is worth about $4,500 – a donation that makes the project’s plans doable. “We never even really asked,” said John Bergs, a physicaleducation teacher who lives in the same east-Belle Plaine neighborhood as Larson and his former Town Tigers teammate Pat Schultz. He coaches BPHS’s baseball team and is an assistant varsity football coach. “This is what communities do. People just pitch in and help where they can.” Larson went to his father and stepmother, Mike and Robyn Larson, owners of RTL Construction, and proposed contributing some weekend staff time. Since it was started in 1992, RTL Construction has a history of providing some pro-bono work for worthy causes when the economy is in good shape and the company can afford
to. Having survived the recession that hurt the commercial construction industry, RTL was willing to chip in and help. “2009 through 2012 and 2013 were pretty lean,” Mike Larson said. “But we like to help out where we can. We have people from Belle Plaine who take pride in their work.” Saturday morning (March 19), a team of workers from RTL Construction began removing the north wall to the weight room in the former locker room. Removing the wall expanded the weight room by as much as 33 percent, said Jeff Heine, the district’s facilities director.
If questions over the relocation of tile lines, storm water runoff, possible stray voltage and other issues can be adequately addressed, Blakeley Township will become the home of a solar garden. But there is work to be done before the sun’s rays can be tapped for electricity. Last Monday (March 14), the Scott County Planning Commission tabled consideration of SunShare LLC’s application for a conditional-use permit for ScottSun to host a 5-megawatt solar garden on 40 acres owned by Bonita and John Kane just north of the intersection of County Road 1 (Union Trail) and 250th Street West in Blakeley Township. No date was set for the proposal’s return to the commission. The company aims to lease the
Belle Plaine High School graduate Michael Kroells and Le Sueur-Henderson graduate Brett Pfarr, both juniors on the University of Minnesota wrestling team, are the two Gophers who earned All-American status at last week’s NCAA Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Pfarr finished third at 197 pounds and Kroells, who was also All-American last season, was seventh at heavyweight. Just as he did last year, Kroells had a long second day at the NCAA Championships following a defeat in the second round Belle Plaine High School graduate Michael Kroells, left, and Le Sueur-Henderson graduate Brett Pfarr, are the two GoMichael Kroells phers who earned All-American status at last week’s NCAA (continued on page 8) Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Mark Koepp, who runs a hog operation near the proposed solar garden asked if stray voltage was a concern. He also asked about additional lines coming from the site connecting with the regional grid. Beisner said one line would leave the site. It will have more capacity than a standard power line for transmitting electricity generated at the site to the regional grid. The commission indicated the potential of stray voltage would be addressed when consideration of SunShare’s proposal resumes. The company is proposing to use 35 of the 40 acres. The land is free of buildings, woodland and wetlands and is farmed. The solar panels will be on steel foundations 8 to 12 feet into the ground. If the CUP is granted, they will be set 150 feet from the centerline of County Road 1 (Union Trail) and 100 feet from the side property boundaries. They will be mounted on a racking system, 15 feet apart and 10 feet into
Solar Garden
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City Agrees to Extend Closing Date Again for Sale of Property to RMC
by Dan Ruud The price remains just a buck but with so much riding on the city-owned property at the intersection of Highway 169 and Country Road 3/Meridian Street, Ridgeview Medical Center and The Lutheran Home Association sought and Giving Back received another extension on “It’s great to be able to give the closing date where they are back to the community,” Shawn teaming up to construct a medical clinic and senior housing B.P. Man’s complex. (continued on page 14) The original closing date was to be this past Dec. 1 but in November the Belle Plaine City Council okayed an amendment to the purchase agreement that extended the closing date to May 1, which after Monday night’s action extends it to Aug. 1. “The purchase agreement included an original closing date of Dec. 1, 2015. Ridgeview Medical Center had originally planned to begin the development (planning) process this summer and have it completed
Michael Kroells One of Two Gophers to Earn All-American Wrestling Status
land for 25 years. It will provide the county a bond covering 125 percent of the estimated cost of decommissioning the solar garden. Consideration of the CUP application came to an abrupt halt during a public hearing when members of the Meierbachtol family indicated SunShare had not informed them about the project, which would impact the tile lines running through the Kane property from the Meierbachtol farm to the north of the proposed solar garden site. Chuck Beisner of SunShare told commissioners a co-worker was responsible for informing neighbors of the possible impacts of the proposal. Beisner suggested the proposal be tabled. Dale Meierbachtol said he and his family would not approve of the project unless SunShare relocated the tile lines serving their farmland. Concerns about storm water runoff along County Road 1 were also raised. Beisner said a storm water runoff plan was nearly ready for county and state review and approval.
by that date,” City Administrator Holly Kreft reported Monday. “Since that time, they have entered into a formal partnership with The Lutheran Home Association to include senior housing on the site. This has necessitated an extension to the planning process. As Ridgeview Medical Center and The Lutheran Home continue to refine the building footprint, additional time is requested.” When the council authorized extending the $1 purchase agreement from Dec. 1 to May 1, Kreft said the groundbreaking for the project was still anticipated for May 1. However, that will likely be pushed back to June. Kreft said the city is expected to receive more detailed plans in April with council action in May. In January, the council approved the concept plan for the Ridgeview/Lutheran Home complex, highlights of which include: – Medical Clinic: The initial
phase will be approximately 8,000 to 12,000 square feet designed with future vertical expansions to a total of 15,000 to 20,000 square feet. The clinic building will have a drivethrough pharmacy and provisions for an advanced imaging trailer to be parked alongside and integrated with the clinic. – Lutheran Home Care Cen-
City Agrees
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Easter Egg Hunt Saturday Emma Krumbee’s General Store will again host an Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m. The Easter Bunny will be on hand so bring your camera. The hunt is for kids ages 10 and under. For more information, call Emma Krumbee’s at 952-8733006.
Scott County Sheriff’s Office Launches SCSOTips App The Scott County Sheriff’s Office is now allowing the public to share important public safety information anonymously with deputies. Residents can now send a secure message about crimes or suspicious activity in Scott County via a free smartphone app. Developed by tip411, the SCSOTips App puts a new crimefighting tool into the hands of community members of all ages. The SCSOTips App can be downloaded at no cost via the Google Play Store, iTunes
App Store, or by visiting the Scott County Sheriff’s Office Web site at www.scottcountymn.gov “We believe the public is our greatest law enforcement resource,” said Chief Deputy Luke Hennen of Scott County Sheriff’s Office. “Our new SCSOTips App, along with our existing tip411 anonymous text a tip system, will help our residents play a more active role in keeping the citizens of Scott County safe.” Like the department’s existing
tip411 anonymous text-a-tip system, the new SCSOTips App from tip411 enables the public to share an anonymous tip with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office and lets the staff respond back creating an anonymous two-way conversation. “Our SCSOTips App allows
Sheriff’s Office (continued on page 6)
Storm Water Work Working in tight quarters, a crew from Chard Tiling & Excavating dug down to a storm water pipe running between two houses on the 700 block of East Forest Street Monday (March 21). The project involves relieving flood-prone areas by upgrading storm water pipes from 24 to 36 inches so water will flow through the system and eventually to the river quicker.