Controversy clouds PSC but council moves forward
Not without controversy, the new Public Safety Center project takes another step forward. Despite accusations that council was forcing the financing on citizens and the threat of a lawsuit, Council, last night, approved the sale of nearly 6.3 million dollars in Certificates of Participation. Three of the 5 people who spoke out against the financing are running for council member seats. One issue brought up was the fact that this type of bonding is subject to a yearly vote by council to approve appropriation of payments. David Ludescher who’s squaring off with current councilor Betsey Buckheit for Councilor-at-Large, said that if elected he would not appropriate money for “this”. He further said that he expected a reverse referendum and a lawsuit. Should a new council not appropriate the funds yearly, the City’s financial advisor Mark Ruff said the bond rating for the city would plummet and threaten future projects. Several councilors took offense to the comments and expressed their feelings. Councilor Imm was upset that speakers, especially council candidates, challenged their work and disparaged the work of the experts. He rejected the assertions that council had not done their due dilligence. Councilor Zweifel commented that she’s had 100’s of conversations with constituents who want the process moved forward. She, along with Buckheit and Ganey echoed their dismay at the accusations laced through the public comments. Mayor Rossing stated that the council has a duty to appropriate the yearly funds. In a 5 to 1 vote council approved the sale. Councilor Pownell voted no and Councilor Nakasian was absent. The entire meeting is archived online at kymnradio.net.
Motorcycle accident victim flown to HCMC
A man was airlifted to HCMC after crashing his motorcycle near the Flying J truck stop last night. The Rice County Sheriff’s department reports that 70 year old Vernon Ferguson had signaled to turn into the truck stop when his motorcycle hit a small gravel pothole. Witnesses said the motorcycle started to wobble and Ferguson couldn’t correct the front wheel. He crashed to the pavement, sustaining injuries. According to the Press Release, no other vehicles were involved. The crash happened just before 7 last night. An investigation into the accident continues.
Dundas already talking snow removal
The Dundas City Council met Monday night. City Administrator John McCarthy said a long discussion was about snow removal. He says they’ll continue to use their current contractor for a couple more seasons and then seriously look at ramping up their Public Works department to handle it themselves. In the continuing saga of the Titan lawsuit, McCarthy says they’re set to go back to mediation September 25th. In regard to the issues between Dundas and Bridgewater, McCarthy said that he felt they may be moving closer to mediation. The City would prefer to settle matters out of court.
Richardson says Northfield schools in good shape
During the School Board meeting Superintendent Dr. Chris Richardson gave an update on the state of the District. Despite legislators, the district is in good financial shape with cash on hand. The challenges this year include implementing the 2nd phase of technology transformation. A lot of that will be logistics, what kind of apps will be used, how will they work with students, will they be in traditional class settings or something else? Another big challenge will be the mandated Principal/Teacher evaluations. The District is one of 17 piloting a new program for Prinicpal evaluations. Richardson says their model will hopefully be used by districts throughout the state. Richardson says the other challenge is being very mindful of their budget and to educate the new Legislators coming in after November.
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