Marschall
leads well
As taxpayers, we like to know when our elected officials are willing to find ways to reduce the cost of government programs or services.
Collaborating with community partners or other units of government reduces the cost for everyone. Barbara Marschall has been one of our county representatives to the Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency (SCALE) since it was formed years ago to promote collaboration between Scott County and its cities, townships, school districts and the Mdewakanton Sioux Community. The members of SCALE have each contributed resources for joint projects to improve public safety and emergency responses in our county. These projects include the joint regional training facility and enhancements to the radio system and dispatch center in the jail.
The joint regional training facility is located in the former jail annex in Jordan. This facility will be used to provide adequate training for the people we rely on in an emergency: law enforcement, firefighters and emergency responders, not only in our county but throughout the region. Revenue generated from those who use the facility will help to cover some operational expenses.
The county’s recent investment in the 800 mhz radio system and advanced technology for the 911 dispatch center provide uninterrupted radio communication between all public safety and emergency personnel involved in a crisis situation, improving response time and the accuracy of information.
Public safety has been a priority for Barbara Marschall since she was first elected. We appreciate Barbara’s leadership role in supporting these projects and the needed infrastructure that makes Scott County a safer place for all of us. We are supporting her in this fall’s election for county commissioner.
Don and Mary Jane Casey
Prior Lake
A ‘yes’ vote
is smart
The past weeks have shown letters both against and in favor of the school referendums being voted on this election. Opponents say the district should go deeper than basic cuts just as businesses do when times are tough. Businesses do cut deep; they cut people through downsizing or outsourcing overseas, they discontinue lower margin products, regardless of whether you still need them, they sacrifice quality as we’ve seen in product recalls, and eliminate customer service, all while raising prices.
We have a school district that made $3.4 million in cuts over the past three years while accommodating a higher number of students, dealing with increased federal compliance burdens, managing higher fixed operating costs and, in spite of these challenges, has continued high-quality education as shown in recent academic achievement. Consider this along with the fact that public schools are federally mandated to educate all students, even those who are more costly to educate, and it’s obvious that our district has topped the business community by a long shot.
Anyone who has invested time on-site at our schools quickly sees the prudent way in which they operate. They make even the most frugal businesses appear wasteful. I challenge opponents of these referendums to “go to school” to see firsthand how our schools operate and then specify what waste should be trimmed and how they should move forward in quality education without this funding.
These referendums are not a cost; they are an investment in our community, in our country, and an investment that will pay you many times over through increased property values. It’s plainly smart business to vote yes for the upcoming District 719 referendums.
Visit www.priorlake-savage.k12.mn.us [1] and www.sayYES719.org [2] for facts, data and frequently asked questions.
Betty Hartman
Prior Lake
Buckle up
children
As a child passenger safety technician, I see plenty of mistakes parents make when it comes to properly securing their children: kids in the wrong safety seat, child seats not fastened tight enough, and of course, children ages 4-8 years and under 4 feet 9 inches riding in just a seat belt rather than a booster seat.
Now’s the time to get it right: National Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 21–27, is an ideal opportunity for parents to understand how to properly secure their child in the correct safety restraint and better understand the importance of boosters.
Parents and caregivers are the most important role models to their children. Always demonstrate the importance of seat belts by buckling up, and make sure your kids are buckled up right, too.
Visit www.buckleupkids.state.mn.us [3] to learn more.
Officer Maureen O’Hehir
Prior Lake police
Car lot was
lots of fun
On Saturday, Sept. 6, the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District’s Family Center programs at Edgewood School sponsored a vehicle fair/open house for families and children, which was well-attended and lots of fun.
Edgewood School’s parking lot was jam-packed with a wide variety of vehicles and machinery displayed for children, and their interested parents, to look at, climb on, sit in and enjoy.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all the folks who spent the morning with us and helped us with this event: Gerald Ziskovsky, many Family Center staff members and Kenny Beahan, an Edgewood custodian, Heidi and Paul from Above All Hardwood Floors, Christensen Bus Co. and Bob Kimpton, the city of Prior Lake and employees, Mike Gardner and Tom Buckley, Jerry Cleveland and Bossardt Corporation, Dave Colluci and Priority Dock and Boat Lift Sales and Service, Carina Peterson and Cal’s Market and Garden Center, Terry Crawford and Integra Telecom, the Prior Lake Police Department and Officer Duane Goldhammer, the Prior Lake Fire Department and firefighters Dan Seery, Eric Zimmerman and Max Mahaney, Brad Hanson from Brad Hanson’s Pro Finishers, Mark Wangerins from Mark’s Bobcat Service, Tim Knox from the Best Buy Geek Squad, John Peterson from Boyer Trucks, Peggy Johnson from Prior Lake State Bank and Jim Tercero and Darryl Gabrielson with their vintage race car.
As part of the Community Education Services program in the district, we’d like to thank you all for the education and the services you provided to the families in our community.
Lori Ford
ECFE coordinator
Prior Lake-Savage Family Center
Marschall is
advocate
I am supporting the re-election of Barbara Marschall for county commissioner because she is the most qualified, knowledgeable and hard-working advocate for your concerns.
County government has had to make many budget cuts. She has proven to be able to find solutions for these problems while keeping your pocketbook intact. I am grateful for her involvement in the D.A.R.E. program and the county’s Meth Task Force created to teach our children and parents about the dangers of these drugs. This is such an important program for our children and grandchildren and should greatly reduce their use. It is so important to her to keep our children safe and drug-free.
Barbara has always made a commitment to make our government fiscally responsible and has worked hard to keep that promise. She will use your money wisely, cutting corners wherever possible. Barbara is truly a devoted servant, and I strongly recommend her re-election.
Marilyn Vallez
Prior Lake
Olson is
best choice
I was pleased to see that Scott County commissioner candidate Chris Olson did very well in the primary. This is a good thing as he’s a man of strong character who is more than capable of doing the job.
I read in the paper the comments from all of the commissioner candidates from District 2 and find myself perplexed by [Tom] Wolf’s statement regarding his taxes. According to the paper, “Wolf said taxes on his home have more than doubled since 2003.” That statement simply is not accurate. I checked the county records and saw that his taxes have increased 55 percent during that time frame, not double as he indicated. I also noted that the majority of this increase was the result of increases in the city and school portion of his taxes and that the value of his house increased 39 percent during that same time frame.
In his literature, he describes county spending as “out of control” and has stated that the county doesn’t have a revenue problem, rather a spending problem. According to information from the state auditor’s office, Scott County spends less per capita than any county within the metropolitan area.
I’ve worked in county government, and I’m curious about specifics. Specifically, where does the county have a spending problem? The paper indicates the county has a $3 million deficit for 2009. Perhaps Wolf can shed some light regarding the spending problem so the budget deficit will suddenly become a non-issue.Wolf also referred to our current commissioner, Bob Vogel, as a “liberal,” which is anything but accurate. Bob has been a sound, pragmatic and fiscally conservative commissioner who deserves better than this.We need a genuine, competent and solution-bound commissioner for Scott County, not a commissioner who makes exaggerated claims and speaks in sound bytes lacking specifics. Chris Olson is known to the community and has shown by example his work ethic, character and sincerity. Please take time to seek Olson out and talk with him. I’m confident that if you do, you’ll agree that he’s the best choice for Scott County commissioner.
Deb Lambright
Spring Lake Township
Narrow school
mission
We certainly were front-page news in the Star Tribune Aug. 20. Why didn’t the reporter ask why the school district held the [bond] voting on Feb. 15 [2005] when three months earlier there was a presidential election that could have included a levy and bond referendum?
If [they] passed, there was enough money to open the school; if [they] failed, there would not be an empty building.
Interestingly, the same article noted that Belle Plaine and Chaska had the same problem and the same comment “pass the levy or we can’t open the school.” Both found ways to open the school, but not Prior Lake.
I support Jeremy Meiers’ and John Benedict’s points of view regarding cutting staff and narrowing the mission. What is wrong with joining certain staff functions instead of replacing open positions? Narrowing the mission might improve learning in the basics. How can we consider it good performance, with the family demographics of this district, with ACT achievement of 1.1 percent above the state average?
To write that businesses do not have revenue restrictions like schools is far from true. In my work experiences, there were times we had to cut back by consolidating jobs, eliminating others and other painful and necessary steps.
I believe the electorate has every right to ask our school to do the same thing with the additional knowledge that home values decline when home taxes are too high.
The school taxes in Prior Lake are twice as high as the state average. School taxes in Prior Lake are higher than Shakopee, Burnsville, Lakeville, Farmington, New Prague and 25 percent higher than the state average per $100,000 of home value. These figures are from 2005-06 and were received from school officials.
Robert Peterson
Prior Lake
Enforce
agreement
On Monday, I attended the Credit River Township monthly meeting. Being a life-long Scott County resident, taxpayer and a beneficiary of the Casey Family Trust, I had particular interest in the discussion of the status of Cress View Estates.Michael Sobota, community development director for Scott County, gave a talk on how the Credit River Township Board should partner with the county to amend the developer’s agreement for On-Site Marketing.This developer’s agreement is a legal, binding contract signed by the county, the township and the developer, which in this case is On-Site Marketing.Sobota went on to address the Township Board, stating the economy has greatly changed since this developer’s agreement was put in place and no one could have seen this coming. I thought part of the county’s job was to envision the future and plan for future needs. Sobota was in favor of amending this developer’s agreement to basically relieve On-Site Marketing from fulfillment of their obligation to build Casey Boulevard, which would then put the burden on the Casey Family Trust.When one of the board members questioned Sobota on what their options as a town board were, it appeared that they had two options: partner with the county [or] the county would proceed on their own to work with On-Site Marketing to enter into a road agreement.My idea of entering into a partnership or being a partner is that it is 50/50. The only partnership I saw at this meeting was the partnership of Sobota on behalf of Scott County and the partnership that he has formed with On-Site Marketing.I understand that the economy has taken a toll on everyone, not just developers, but all business owners, especially individuals and families. I wish Sobota would rally with the Casey Family Trust to protect their rights and enforce the current developer’s agreement.The developers have had many profitable years in the housing market, and they should have been prepared for some type of slowdown or bump in the road.Prior to the township discussion on Cress View Estates, there was a discussion for a request for preliminary plat approval for Liberty Creek Estates, which would be an amendment to the current plat and developer’s agreement. Sobota was not speaking on their behalf, so I’m not sure why the special interest in On-Site Marketing.This opens the doors for all developers to come forward to renegotiate their current developer’s agreements to rid themselves of their obligations.
Sue Thomas
Lakeville
Get Obama
facts straight
I was heartened to read the letter taking this paper to task for printing misinformation about Barack Obama [“Letter facts unsupported,” Sept. 13].
It puzzles me when this paper prints blatant diatribe from readers without factual basis, but it’s especially disturbing when so much is at stake for our nation. We can’t afford to keep silent in the face of lies: so many problems that negatively impact the daily lives of everyday citizens can be directly linked to failed policies of the Bush administration.McCain, far from a “maverick,” supports Bush 90 percent of the time, and his platform supports continuation of those same disastrous policies. So how does he run on that record? He lies. In the face of real challenges, when we desperately need to hear the truth about real issues, McCain and his supporters have demonstrated a systematic and pervasive pattern of telling outright lies about Obama. Even when confronted with undeniable evidence to the contrary, McCain and his running mate continue to repeat lies about Obama and make claims about their own records that are devoid of substance.McCain has even misrepresented Obama’s support of a bill to keep children safer from sexual predators as “sex education for kindergartners.” Ridiculous. Isn’t that just what we’ve been fighting for in our own community? Anyone who will slander a good man for the sake of winning an election because he cannot win on his own platform is unfit to be the commander in chief. Honor comes with honesty.
If you want to know about Obama’s actual policies, go to his Web page. Under Obama’s plan, the vast majority of us would have a significantly greater decrease in taxes than under McCain, increasing taxes only on the richest 10 percent of Americans. Why else are several of these wealthiest Americans – with close ties to the oil industry – spending so much of their own money spreading lies about Obama?
Obama’s donors are millions of individual citizens giving whatever they can. McCain’s policies leave you and me behind. It’s time to make a change, rejecting the broken promises and failed policies that got us where we are today.
Amy Hallberg
Prior Lake
City choices
are puzzling
There are a few items that have occurred over the past few weeks that have left me wondering what the Prior Lake City Council members are thinking.
First of all, the OK to permit the MGM liquor store to locate in the former PDQ strip mall on Commerce Avenue. I have known Kevin Bresnahan (owner of Dakota Liquors) for over 40 years and cannot believe why the majority of the council would approve MGM’s permit when, not too many years ago, Kevin was presented with the issue of having the Savage municipal liquor store put in across County Road 42 in Savage from his location in Prior Lake. The “city fathers” want new business in Prior Lake, but do they have to destroy existing businesses in order to gain new ones? Hopefully this will not deter business from Dakota Liquors but only enhance it, for Kevin’s sake.
I guess the many, many names that were presented via a petition did not count, according to what was indicated at one of the council meetings. So much for the citizens’ voices. Hopefully these petitioners will remember this in the next city election.And, mentioning new business, the talk of another high rise in downtown Prior Lake is another way of running existing businesses out of town. I remember when C. H. Carpenter wanted to expand and they were turned down. So what happened? They moved to Lakeville. This talk of having Monnens Lumber move (which would be one business affected by this high rise) is utterly ridiculous. What about the three-story building across the street (Rock Creek building), [which] is not even 100-percent occupied, not to mention a strip mall on Franklin Trail sitting almost empty. Does the City Council even care about the livelihoods of existing downtown businesses this would affect?What about the council members that have businesses in town? Maybe it’s time to tell them to move their businesses. It’s amazing that after all these years, the corner of Main and Pleasant has been such an eyesore (the old Joe’s Pizza building). Oh, I forgot – the city owns this, and it sat empty for how long? Now, the talk is to put in a parking lot and/or parking ramp. This corner would have been ideal to make a patio area for the VFW, but, instead, put in more parking for all of the businesses that will be moved for a new high rise.Lastly, I would like to encourage all voters in Scott County Commissioner Barb Marshall’s district to re-elect Commissioner Marshall in November.
Marshall has been a very effective commissioner and uses good, common sense in decision making for the residents of Scott County.
Colleen Ottman
Prior Lake
Commissioner
gets too much
I was recently shocked to find out that our current county Commissioner Barbara Marschall has voted to receive – and has received – pay raises the past three years.
These pay raises total a 13.4-percent increase. Since 1999, Barbara has voted to increase her pay six out of eight years. Our commissioner now receives $47,010 a year for a part-time job. With fiscal responsibility like this, it is no wonder we will see the county put in for the maximum levy increase of 5.8 percent and still need to trim the budget by $3.1 million.
This part-time job should not be paid more than the average citizen makes a year for full-time hours.
James A. Michka
Prior Lake
Not really
‘citizens first’
In response to the letter to the editor on Sept. 13 supporting Barbara Marschall, yes, Marschall works on numerous committees, something like 30. But did you know she receives additional pay over and above her salary of $47,000 in the form of per diems for all these “committees?”
The letter goes on to say she “knows what it takes to keep a county budget under control.” That’s funny, since one of the lead articles in that same newspaper states Scott County put in for the maximum tax levy increase allowed, 5.8 percent. And $3.1 million needs to be cut just to hit that mark, and it could be higher with special levies.
With the economy on everyone’s mind, how is this putting “citizens first?”
Kevin Hafermann
Prior Lake
Golf tourney
was a hit
Safe Haven would like to thank all who attended the benefit golf tournament on Aug. 4 at Legends Golf Course in Lakeville.
A special thank you to KMA Inc. for coordinating and sponsoring the event, which raised over $20,000 for Safe Haven services for youth and young adults.
Thank you to the following supporters for contributing to the event: Air Mechanical; AIS Document Solutions; Ball Pro; Bed, Bath and Beyond; Best Buy of Shakopee; Bonfire; Buffalo Wild Wings; Burnsville Heating and Air; Cub Foods; Delta Dental of Minnesota; Denny Hecker’s GMAC Realty; Derek Farsund; ECC Brokers; El Loro; Enjoy; Green Mill; Hans and Sue Radke; Hooters; Integra Telecom; James Streefland; CPA; Jamie Scheere; Jansen Insurance; Jen Kons; Jim Koshak; Kelly Promotions; KMA Inc. and staff; Legends Golf Course; Lifetouch; Lost Spur Country Club; Lumtron Technologies; Majors; Mark and Tricia Davis; Metal-Matic Inc; Metropolitan Financial Services Inc.; Mutual of America; Nora Smith; Olive Garden; Paradise Car Wash; Passkey Computer Services; Paws and Pals Pet Resort; Presbyterian Homes and Services; Prior Lake Pet Hospital; Prior Lake State Bank; Pro-Tech Design and Manufacturing Inc.; Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church; Silverstone Golf Club; TGI Friday’s; The Wilds Golf Club; UPAC; Val Zweber – REMAX Realty; Village Market; Wausau Insurance; Winthrop and Weinstine, Attorneys at Law; Workers’ Compensation Specialists, LCC (MIIA) and the YMCA at Shepherd’s Path.
Dan Saad, director
Safe Haven