COUNTRY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015
Serving Marine on St. Croix, Scandia, May Township
VOL. 32 NO. 10 www.countrymessenger.com $.75
CITIZEN’S CLIMATE LOBBY: St. Croix Valley group educate others on climate change. P6
Log House Landing grant plan scuttled WATERSHED DISTRICT RESCINDS FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR WIDER ROAD BY KYLE WEAVER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
EVAN JOHNSON AND GENE DI LORENZO | COUNTRY MESSENGER
Painting the sky with fire “We paint with fire, and the night sky is our canvas,” said Dr. Gregory Glavan, media coordinator and member of Northern Lighter Pyrotechnics, the club that puts on Marine’s annual fireworks show. “Fireworks engage the right and the left brain. ... It’s chemistry and physics, but also light and sound.”
May building inspector retires REPLACEMENT NAMED BY SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Peter Kluegel, May Township’s building inspector of 34 years, is preparing to retire. The town board chose his successor, Jack Kramer, at its July 2 meeting. Kramer is a contract building inspector for Marine on St. Croix, Stillwater Township, Taylors Falls, Shafer and Grant, among other local municipalities.
“My first question is: this seems like quite a list,” said Town Chair Bill Voedisch. “Do you have time for another?” “I certainly do,” said Kramer. “It seems like a lot of cities, but a lot of the northern counties really aren’t producing a lot of permits. I have a lot of extra time.” Kramer, a resident of Stillwater Township, said he’s willing to keep a flexible schedule, rising early and inspecting after hours for people who cannot take time off work.
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The town board also considered contracting through Hugo for building inspection, but decided that Kramer — who had filled in for Kluegel on occasion — was capable, responsive and affordable. Kluegel said he’d like to start the transition immediately. “You’ll be retired before you know it,” said Voedisch, after encouraging Kluegel to start working with Kramer any time.
The Log House Landing road will stay as is, for now. The Scandia City Council voted last week to suspend indefinitely any further plans to pave the city road that leads to its St. Croix River boat landing and to turn down a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources grant for the project. The council was prompted to do so by a Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District decision late last
month not to participation in the grant, essentially leaving the city without a 25 percent funding partner for the project. The council voted immediately at the outset of a meeting that had the potential to be a long and possibly contentious. “We’re kind of tied now, without the money,” said council member Bob Hegland, who has voted in the past to reject expensive plans at the Landing. “The dynamics have changed.” Under the terms of the original grant proposal announced last year, the DNR would provide $200,000 and the city and watershed district each would pay $100,000 to reconstruct and pave the road — formally known as 205th St. N — in order to control storm water run-off and improve ac-
cess and parking. But many Scandia residents objected to the idea of paving and widening the road, and lobbied the council and watershed district for changes to the plan. One reason was that grant requirements had expanded the scope of the project, nearly doubling previously projected costs. Kristen Tuenge, president of the watershed district, said the project has been in the district’s comprehensive plan since at least 2002. “I think as government bodies, we make the best decision as we can make at the time,” Tuenge said during the council’s July 1 meeting. Tuenge went on to contend that further study has shown the proposed road improveSEE LANDING, PAGE 5
Marine principal to leave SUZANNE LINDGREN EDITOR@COUNTRYMESSENGER.COM
Rachel Larson, the principal of Marine Elementary School, announced June 29 that she’d accepted a position as Director of Personalized Learning with the Stillwater School District. Larson worked at Marine Elementary during the 2014-2015 school year. “I have loved my year at Marine and didn’t intend on leaving,” she wrote in an email to parents. “This position [as Director of Personalized Learning] is similar to the one that I moved into the district to do and I am happy to be able to serve all students, staff and
families within Stillwater Area Public Schools.” The announcement came close on the heels of the school district’s final decision to reduce funding for a third grade teacher from 1.0, or full time, to .3. Larson noted that her move represents “more uncertainty and yet more change,” but assured parents that incoming superintendent Denise Pontrelli would work with school staff and the Marine community “to develop a long-term plan to provide stability in programming and leadership for Marine.” Larson transferred to her new position July 1.
SEE MAY TOWNSHIP, PAGE 2
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