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Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2016 VOL. 33 NO. 28 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
ARTREACH ST. CROIX UPCOMING SERIES: Stories the Lands Tell. PAGE 6
Budget flat, but cuts are few Councilman suggests cut to dive team BY KYLE WEAVER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Mill Pond ©TOMY O'BRIEN
Mill Pond, Marine Mills, March, 1915
Pebbles in the River: Marine centered photography exhibition JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Local photographer Tomy O’Brien recently debuted his latest exhibition at the Stillwater Public Library. It has a unique twist that will certainly have many local history buffs rushing down to see it. The exhibit features photos taken by John Dunn, a name many locals probably recognize, but for those who don’t Dunn was an insurance salesman from St. Paul who
spent a lot of time in Marine, taking the train north to camp with his family. He also created the Pine Needles artist retreat. Dunn’s photos in the exhibit were all taken in 1914 or 1915 and all feature the city of Marine. O’Brien has studied Dunn’s photos and gone to locations, retaking the photos in order to compare the time periods. “The subject of the show is to compare and contrast. One thing people pointed out is the presence of trees” said O’Brien. Dunn’s pho-
tos show there were far fewer trees in Marine at the time, while O’Brien’s show just how much growth has occurred since the early twentieth century. O’Brien also stated that “trees are wonderful, we need them, but some of the beauty of the landscape comes out [with fewer].” Dunn’s photos, now along with the negatives of O’Brien’s, have been housed in the Minnesota History Center (MHC) in St. SEE EXHIBITION, PAGE 2
New local holiday shopping experience BY JESSICA ANDERSON INTERIM EDITOR
Now that Halloween has passed we’re about to feel the rush of holiday shopping. Some people are surely excited, others not so much. But for people in need of a little inspiration for gift ideas there is a new holiday shopping experience available this year. This past weekend kicked off a new collaboration between several local businesses to support each other and create a linked holiday shopping experience for their customers. Gammelgarden Gift Shop, Prairie ResSEE SHOPPING, PAGE 7
With the city locked into a flat tax levy increase for 2017, the Scandia City Council is looking to go negative. In September, the council approved a preliminary local tax levy of $2,257,871, the same amount as 2016. The city cannot increase that amount, but may further reduce it. In meetings on Oct. 5 and Nov. 2, the council considered ways to do just that. With City Administrator Neil Soltis giving a lineby-line review of the city’s proposed budget, though, few ideas for further trimming the budget seem to have gained traction. At an Oct. 5 meeting, the council listened to Soltis’s review, but only asked a few questions. At the Nov. 2 meeting, the only significant discussion was regarding the Scandia Fire & Rescue dive team. Councilman Dan Lee again brought up the idea of cutting the team, which consists of three trained, certified divers and two primary dive tenders. Lee noted that Washington County has a dive team and estimated the city could save $5,000 in training and equipment costs per year by cutting it. “The county recovers bodies for free,” Lee said. “I just don’t understand why our city pays for this service when the county does it for free.” Fire Chief Mike Hinz however noted that Scandia’s dive team is not intended for recovery efforts, but rather to be a rescue operation. “Our goal is to be there when it counts,” Hinz said. Hinz also reminded the council members that they had specifically discussed and approved the dive team in 2016, when two divers were retiring from the team and new trainees were being considered. The city is budgeting for a modest increase in building permit revenues of $15,000, after receiving a $75,000 windfall in 2016. No major road improvements are planned for 2017, so the budget estimates $1,484,000 will be available for road projects in 2018. Other 2017 budget spending planned includes: • $8,000 for the purchase of an audio system in the council chambers in 2016 has been repurposed for relocating a computer server and router system. • $200,000 for 205th Street North/Log House Landing Road, though the project is predicated on receiving other sources of grant funding. • $56,000 for development of the city’s comprehensive plan. • $.50 per hour increase for all fire department staffers. • $85,000 for a new fire department grass fire truck/ rig. • $200,000 for a new city dump truck, an expenditure that was deferred from 2016. • $30,000 to replace a mower used to maintain city parks and the community center. • $8,000 for a roller to assist with minor street patching. The council will hold a public hearing on its 2017 budget on Dec. 7 and will make a final approval at its last meeting of the year, Dec. 27.
Sewer rates
COURTESY OF CAROL SEEDFELDT
Users of the city’s public sewer systems, which serve homes around Big Marine Lake, will be seeing a 5 percent increase in their bills starting in 2017. Two systems will be requiring significant improvements in the next five to 10 years, to extend a drainfield in the Anderson/Erickson development and to treat nitrates in the Bliss development. The cost of those two upgrades will be roughly $500,000
Photographed at the Gammelgarden shop, left to right is Lynne Moratzka, Mary Jo Millbrandt, Jan Lynne, Sarah Poruncansky, and Dolly Swanson.
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