Farmington and Lakeville: Thisweek Newspapers

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THE AYS HOLID issue

Curtain rises for Eagan children’s theater group. See Thisweekend Page 8A.

Thisweek Farmington-Lakeville NOVEMBER 18, 2011 VOLUME 32, NO. 38

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A NEWS OPINION SPORTS

www.thisweeklive.com

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Opinion/4A

Public Notices/5A

Sports/10A

Announcements/6A

Classifieds/11A

Lakeville council tackles merits of social media During work session decorum discussion, Matt Little becomes focus because of his tweets, Facebook posts by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Do you want your city council members using Twitter and Facebook to communicate directly with the public? As the Lakeville City Council seeks to improve the way its members get along, the issue of social media is serving as a sticking point. Among the issues discussed at a recent work ses-

sion were whether council members should use social media outside of meetings and also whether they should be able to post updates during certain meetings. Matt Little is currently the only one of the five council members who uses the two social media applications regularly to connect with voters. His activity manifests in a couple different forms:

Live Twitter posts during work sessions and Facebook posts and tweets about city issues when he is not in meetings. At times, his Facebook page becomes an arena for Little to field constituent inquiries, such as Valley Park residents wondering about postal changes or a woman requesting that Lakeville designate one day for garbage collection. See Social Media, 7A

Photo captured

A screenshot of Lakeville City Council Member Matt Little’s Facebook page. The City Council has been discussing social media use during and after meetings.

Businesses A strong finish for North could see 27 percent tax hike

Farmington explores new fire service

Farmington business owners to demand changes at next meeting

Shared resources could save Farmington money by Laura Adelmann

by Laura Adelmann

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Farmington and Rosemount officials are exploring an option to merge their fire departments into a single fire district. The cities would join forces to provide service to their communities and Empire Township, areas the departments already serve. Farmington Mayor Todd Larson said he and Rosemount Mayor Bill Droste have discussed the idea for about a year. In September, the two mayors met with Empire Township Chair Terry Holmes and both cities’ administrators to pursue the idea. “The whole reason behind it is to figure out ways to share equipment and support each other’s boundaries,� Larson said. Under a unified fire disSee Merger, 14A

Without changes to Farmington’s preliminary budget, some local business owners will incur nearly 30 percent property tax increases in 2012. A new spreadsheet prepared by Farmington Finance Director Teresa Walters shows that under the city’s preliminary budget, taxes on a commercial property valued at $570,200 would increase by 26.2 percent in 2012. According to Walters, a rental property with a market value of $190,200 would see a 27.7 percent property tax increase next year if the city’s preliminary budget is finalized in December as-is. Walters noted half of the anticipated increase is attributed to legislative changes in the state’s property tax sysSee Increase, 7A

Photo by Rick Orndorf

The Lakeville North Panthers initially led the 2011 Class AAA Girls’ State Volleyball championship at the Xcel Energy Center on Nov. 12, but dropped the last two games to a rejuvenated Eden Prairie attack. North ends its season with a 27-6 overall record. For more information, check out the story on Page 10A.

District 194 projects years of enrollment drops Data show possibility for loss of 300 students by 2012-13 and significant decline in state aid by Aaron Vehling THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

The population of residents in the Lakeville Area School District is aging without an influx of hordes of young people. This might play well in certain circles, but it means less revenue for the school district. Because so many of the district’s decisions are based on enrollment, the School Board will look into conducting a demographic study, with a vote to come eventually. Director of Business Services Mark Klett said in a report to the board recently that the numbers are “scary to me.� He projects a decline of almost 300 students by the 2012-2013 school year, with similar losses in each of the next four years.

Current e n ro l l m e n t for this school year is 10,889, which is down more than 100 Mark Klett from the previous school year, but still 800 students more than a decade ago. Projections are not an exact science, but Klett said he looked at a number of data sets. They include births in Dakota County as a measure of predicting kindergarten enrollment. Klett recommended that the board hire a demographer to compile a more accurate study and projections. “I’m not a demographer,� he said, adding that he is not comfortable making major decisions such as

budget adjustments without the proper data. Hazel Reinhardt, one of the most prolific demographers in the state, conducted the district’s previous study in 2008 for $7,500. Klett said that Reinhardt looked at housing starts, birth data and several other sets of data to develop enrollment projections. She also talks with city and county planners, in addition to other sources, to arrive at her conclusions. The issue of cost came up with more than one board member. Council Member Bob Erickson said the district currently has enough data that it could use some of that information, allowing Reinhardt more precise focus coupled with a cheaper bill. “Let’s try to sort out the

factors and how those lead to various trends,� Erickson said, noting that 48 percent of the population in the district has no children at home. He did, however, speak in favor of hiring temporary, part-time help to assist in the data collection. Board Member Michelle Volk questioned an extraneous expense, “considering the economic times we’re in. I wonder if it’s not better to just hold off another year.� She said the steep declines in enrollment call for a long-term strategy with a revisiting of the study next year. Board Member Jim Skelly supported the demographic study. “This is shocking to me,� he said of the projections. “Doing a demographic

study, I couldn’t agree with that more. We base our decisions in every part of the district on this.� He called for a larger committee, including board members and people from the community, to help in addressing the enrollment decline. The projections for 2012-2013 are similar to those for this year, Skelly said, so waiting a year to conduct the study could be feasible. Nevertheless, he said, the board has to address this issue head-on. “It’s not an issue that will go away,� he said. “We should find a way to address it. “It’s something everyone can agree on,� Skelly said. “I’m looking at the chart. That’s not the chart I expected to see when I moved

to Lakeville in 2000.� He added that he did not want Lakeville to suffer the fate of the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District: going from a district of 11,000 students to one of 9,000 and enduring the challenges associated with such a drop. Klett emphasized the importance of doing a study to get the most accurate data possible. “We don’t want to be penny-wise and pound foolish because we don’t want to pay an expert,� Klett said. “Enrollment drives everything.� The board will further discuss the issue at its Tuesday, Nov. 22 meeting at the district office. Aaron Vehling is at aaron.vehling@ecm-inc.com and www. facebook.com/thisweeklive.

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