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October 1, 2011 | Page 5
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PHOTO BY TOM SCHARDIN
The Prior Lake High School dance team performs at halftime in the Lakers’ home football game with Rosemount Sept. 16. The Laker dancers’ performance season begins Nov. 22, when the team competes in a high-kick South Suburban Conference meet at Lakeville South.
Still many questions as CR21 decision nears I began writing this column over a year ago as a monthly piece on local history. I’m a writer and a historian, not a politician, and knew nothing of the city’s economic development study and the County Road 21 bypass proposal until I attended a neighborhood meeting last April and learned that the city’s consultants were recommending the rerouting of 21 south of its current alignment, taking with it 34 homes and one business. I was relieved to hear that my home wasn’t among the 34, but the plan would wipe out the homes of my neighbors on Pleasant Street and destroy the only historic neighborhood in Prior Lake. That’s when I got upset and decided to take up the cause. The City Council will make its decision on Oct. 17. On investigation, what concerned me the most was that city staff gave no direction to its consultant to share any of this with residents whose homes would be lost, much less involve them in the process through focus groups and the like. Nor had they directed the consultants to study a range of options and alternatives, not just the three that were presented. Why? Mainly, I suspect, because the consultants weren’t selected in an open bid, or request for proposal process, where the scope of work is defined as a matter of public record. They simply did whatever they were hired, and told, to do by city staff. State statute currently permits local government administrators to retain consultants and enter into professional
John
DIERS COMMUNITY COLUMNIST
service contracts with no public process, as long as the contract amount is less than $100,000. That’s something our legislators need to look at, and fix. The mayor and council were, originally, going to take up the bypass in September, but things started unraveling as new information from the consultants became public at a Sept. 6 workshop. There, it was learned that the curvature of the proposed bypass would increase accident rates by 33 percent, and that it wouldn’t pass environmental muster, because it required the taking of wetlands. It was also affirmed that the $23 million cost of the project would fall on homeowners if tax-increment financing were used. Moreover, it became clear that the bypass would run afoul of the state of Minnesota’s new eminent domain statute, which prohibits governments from taking private property for economic development. That, of course, raises the possibility of litigation and more expense for taxpayers, who have already paid upwards of $50,000 for the
consultants. If they have any judgment at all, the mayor and council will say “no” to the bypass on Oct. 17. It’s a flawed plan. The question then becomes, what happens next? First, the mayor and council should direct city staff to revisit all options. There are several. One, and the most sensible, is to do nothing and make no decisions until general economic conditions improve. Governments at all levels are broke, and there is no public support for increasing taxes to pay for new projects or services, nor is there evidence that area growth will return to prerecession levels. We are living in changing times. Others include building an underpass beneath 21 to improve pedestrian and bike access to downtown, or installing synchronized traffic signals at Duluth, Arcadia and Main. The latter, I understand, was summarily dismissed by local traffic engineers, which is a little perplexing. I regularly drive through downtown Minneapolis during rush hours. The signals are a block apart and move thousands of cars every day. Why not here? Haven’t these engineers driven along Hennepin Avenue, or Second Avenue, or Marquette? Or, as I suspect, are they among the suburban fraternity that believes moving automobiles must take precedence over everything else, and that traffic traveling unimpeded at less than 40 miles per hour is somehow, congested? Maybe the council should hire the traffic-engineering department of the city of Minneapolis as its consultant and direct it to develop a plan? Sometimes,
congestion is a good thing. Finally, the mayor and council should ask some probing questions of the staff who managed this project, such as, who defined the scope of work and what specific directions were given to the consultants? How were they selected? Why were outdated numbers from 2005-06 used to project traffic volumes, and an impending traffic crisis, when growth rates have slowed? Why wasn’t it disclosed earlier that the bypass option would increase accident rates by 33 percent, or that there would be environmental and eminent-domain issues? Why weren’t the consultant’s recommendations more carefully scrutinized and questions asked before presentation to the council? Was the bypass a preferred recommendation that the consultants were directed to deliver and defend, and, if so, where did it come from, and who promoted it? Unless these questions are asked and good answers given, I fear we’ll be going through issues like this over and over again. I would much prefer to write about local history, but it may take some big changes and a lot more accountability and transparency at City Hall for that to happen. Elected officials and city staff work for us. They should never be allowed to forget it. John Diers is a Prior Lake resident who spent 40 years working in the transit industry and author of “Twin Cities by Trolley: The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul.” To submit questions or topics for Diers, e-mail Prior Lake American editor Lori Carlson at editor@plamerican.com.
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RANTS AND RAVES FROM STAFF
Not quite ready for coats Rave: As the season of pumpkins and descending leaves approaches, I’m excited for the fashion that fall brings. Say it with me: “Sweater weather.” Despite temperatures in the 60s, I’ve spent the last two weeks donning my favorite wool tops instead of going sans sleeves, in an attempt to wring out the last few days of summer. This is one of those rare times in Minnesota when the climate doesn’t require an additional covering, be it a coat or a jacket, so I’m deciding to embrace it before Mother Nature snatches my sweater weather away. – Meryn Fluker
Tea me, please Rave: I’m a lifelong tea drinker, but I’ve only recently discovered the joys of loose-leaf tea. The chemistry-class feel of figuring out your own ratio of tea to water and being able to see the spices, leaves and fruits that combine to create the beverage make drinking and brewing loose-leaf tea a really fun way to wake up or re-energize midday. Plus, if you have more than two types of loose-leaf tea, you can mix and match to create some wacky blends. I love my coffee, but frankly, loose-leaf tea is a much more fun and low-key way to stay warm. – Meryn Fluker
‘B’ a dear and go away Rant: OK, I’m just going to come right out and say it: I’m beyond sick of Beyoncè. It’s not so much her music I can’t stand (even I have “Single Ladies” and “Baby Boy” – perhaps even a
Destiny’s Child song or two – on my iPod). It’s more her overall personality. “B” seems to need a pat on the back for every accomplishment, from donating money to charity, to topping the singles charts, to (gasp!) carrying a baby. The entertainment media feeds her self-absorption, especially now that she’s pregnant. Beyoncè shows off her baby bump onstage! Beyoncè’s fluctuating hormones are making her hate Jay-Z’s scent! Beyoncè is just like every other mom-to-be, only much, much richer and more glamorous! But even before Beyoncè started taking us on a detailed journey of her life as a pregnant lady, I’d already reached my saturation point this spring, during a video tribute in her honor at the Billboard Music Awards. After several minutes of deadpan footage of her family and various celebrities slathering on the praise – if you didn’t know better, you’d think it was a Mother Teresa documentary – Beyoncè herself gushed about how “humbled” and “surprised” she was at the admiration. Yeah, B, stick to singing, because your acting is pretty weak. – Lori Carlson Do you have a rant or a rave? Send us your musings: E-mail: rantsandraves@swpub.com Address: Prior Lake American, Attn: Rants and Raves, P.O. Box 538, Prior Lake, MN, 55372 Guidelines: Reader rants and raves should be no more than 200 words. The deadline is noon each Wednesday. Rants and raves that are potentially libelous will not be printed or will be edited. Submissions will not be refused because staff disagrees with their content. Anonymous submissions are acceptable; however, including a contact name and/or phone number is helpful for staff, who may have questions about the submission. Rants and raves may be edited as space requires. All publication decisions will be made by the editor.
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