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Baldwin township candidates discuss budget, other issuesBy Joel Stottrup Longtime Baldwin Township supervisor Jess Hall is facing three challengers in his bid for reelection to another three-year term during the township election March 9. They are Calvin Schmock, Kim Good and Sean Weldon. Of the three challengers, Weldon and Good are voicing the most need for a change. Schmock unsuccessfully ran a year ago against incumbent supervisor Lester Kriesel. Here is a profile of the candidates. Schmock Schmock, 27, was in the same place he was a year ago when interviewed for the election - his home garage where he repairs cars for a living. He said he is running for the same reason as last year. "I'm interested in serving - public service in small government," he explained. Schmock has been involved in the township's committee to research the idea of the township adopting a zoning ordinance and having its own zoning powers. Sherburne County has always handled zoning for Baldwin. "I'm against it," Schmock said of the idea of Baldwin taking on the zoning job. He explained that he feels Baldwin already has a voice in being able to endorse or raise concerns to the county about any zoning or development proposal. If Baldwin had the zoning, it would only be one party, the township, making the decisions. If there is concern now about the "good old boy" way of doing things in the county, it could get even worse under Baldwin, he said. Schmock also brought up the issue that arose early last year when a petition was circulated for people to sign if they were interested in Baldwin incorporating to become a city. "I'm against that, too," said Schmock. "I feel if we become incorporated, then we will become what we are trying to avoid. If we do that, then a merger with Princeton would be better." Schmock explained that some who are interested in Baldwin incorporating have suggested it would be a way to keep Princeton from annexing more land in Baldwin. If Baldwin and the city were merged, both would have one larger voice than each does now in the region and state, Schmock reasoned. "We have heard a lot of talk about [how incorporating would make it so Baldwin could] ëcontrol this,' and ëcontrol that,' " Schmock continued. But a problem with being a city is that people moving into it would have higher expectations for services, he said. Schmock was asked to address the issue of continued development in Baldwin. "I think there should be more money put up front by developers," he responded. It could be used to help offset the increased services such as road maintenance the township would face with more development, and some could go for more school needs, he explained. A fee could be calculated like what is done now in which developers have to contribute for parks, he said. Schmock also called for Baldwin to send out flyers in advance of a development proposal going to the township, the flyers being for people within a quarter mile of the site so they could give timely input. "I'm not against development," he said, but some people are "getting blindsided" by development projects. Schmock, addressing calls by some Baldwin residents for more road maintenance, suggested more money could be in that budget for needs that come up, and more timely road maintenance overall. Schmock supports having Baldwin having its own snowplowing equipment and doing all the snowplowing itself to reduce cost. Right now Baldwin does half the township and contracts for snowplowing the other half. Schmock also said he supported the idea of starting the township's fire department that began operating Jan. 1, 2003, and still supports it. Schmock was asked to address the issue of the township's fast growth. "Growth is inevitable and it is a matter of how we maintain it," he said. Why elect Schmock? "As far as running, it is the flip of the coin," he said. "It is more or less to be another option. I am definitely a listener and I would be available." Weldon Weldon, 34, works as a broker for mortgages and health insurance out of an office in his home. He grew up in Livonia Township and moved to Baldwin three years ago. He is a captain for Baldwin's fire and rescue department and is treasurer of the department's fire relief association which deals with firefighters' pensions. Weldon was president of the Sherburne County American Cancer Society board for two years. He owned North Central Insurance Agency in Elk River about seven years before his present occupation. "I just feel there needs to be a change, a more aggressive approach to where things are going," Weldon said. Weldon addressed the issue of incorporating Baldwin into a city. The pros and cons of doing that must be researched before applying to the state, he said, adding that he has been investigating the benefits and drawbacks. But the township board has "not done a good job of putting the information out on the choices to the public" regarding incorporation, Weldon said. People need the information to make a decision, he explained, and noted that the University of Minnesota has done a lot of research on the topic and is a resource, Weldon continued. Weldon said the township should somehow try to get a fix on where its boundaries will be in the future in order to help determine what its tax base will be. Not knowing that makes it difficult to put together a long-range capital plan, he said. Weldon called the township's project to make a 10- year capital improvement plan "putting the cart before the horse," since it doesn't know the city of Princeton's intentions to annex in Baldwin. For example, does the city intend to annex the commercial strip in Baldwin that includes Marv's True Value and other businesses just south of the city, he asked. "I know they [Baldwin supervisors] don't want to fix the frontage road in front of Marv's," Weldon said. "If they stick several hundred thousand into it then it would be an improvement to the city if the city should annex it." One advantage of incorporating would be eligibility for more state aid, but the disadvantages include more costs for the township, such as more staff, Weldon noted. Weldon gave the board some criticism for the way it is budgeted. "To me, it seems like we are always robbing Peter to pay Paul." Weldon explained that he understands the board had used money designated from one or more departments to fund other departments. Some examples are taking money meant for roads and using it for the fire department, and taking money meant for parks and recreation and using it for roads and bridge, he said. "And it just doesn't seem like it is managed well," he added. Weldon charged the board with having tried to run the township on too lean of a budget and that it should be determining the full needs of each department and fund them fully. Then if there is excess at the end of the year, transfer it to the same fund for the following year, he suggested. The board also came in for criticism from Weldon on its road maintenance. He said he believes the board meant to fix some road problems but "once again they ran into a money issue." Weldon pointed to a three-mile stretch of 136th Street as an example of a road that needs to be reconstructed. He called for a thicker surface, wider surface and installing shoulders so children can bicycle along it or there is room for a vehicle breaking down. It also has deep ditches and the board had to quickly respond last year to where the road was starting to wash away in one part, Weldon noted. Weldon recommends that Baldwin have a set of standards for every developer and get input from people who live next to proposed projects. Weldon said he has witnessed "so many times" where a Baldwin supervisor has asked a developer sitting in the audience at a town board meeting for input on what should be done in a project. Once a shared septic system is in, who is going to pay for repairing it if it goes bad in 15 years, Weldon asked. Weldon said he thinks Baldwin should go back to bigger lots such as 2.5 acres each, as opposed to the cluster developments that have been tried in recent years in rural areas. Development shouldn't stop but it should be slowed down and done properly, Weldon suggested. Weldon said the creation of Baldwin's fire department has brought more Baldwin residents together, and that people who have been served by the firefighters have given them warm receptions, he added. Weldon pointed to the mutual aid agreement the department has with Princeton Fire and Rescue. Why elect Weldon? "I have experience with managing people and a lot of experience with budgeting," he said, noting that he is a business owner. "I like to get involved where I live and play a part in it." Good Good, 43, is a regular in the audience at the Baldwin meetings, often speaking her mind about subjects. She charged, for example, at a meeting of the board last summer that one or more departments were not realizing the money that the board had designated for them. At one point last year she requested the board seek a state audit of Baldwin's books but then withdrew the request. During her interview last week, she continued to take issue with how money has been used in the township. "I feel there should be more accountability and people should have more input," Good began. "I believe in open government and that all the people should be heard and all the issues should be addressed properly." An example of the Baldwin supervisors not tackling a problem, she said, is the situation at Sandy Lake where three public accesses exist and sometimes are used for multiple purposes. Swimming and boating out of the same access is not safe and the board has not resolved the problem at Sandy for 20 years, she said. Good was most hard hitting about Baldwin's budgeting. She said that twice within four years, requests have been made and motions passed to the effect that money would be set aside with the goal of a town hall addition. So far there is no addition, she noted. She also asked where the three-year capital plan is that was supposed to be published to guide the township in building improvements. She said that was agreed to be done in the 2000 Baldwin annual meeting, a motion authorizing an extra $30,000 for capital improvements. Good also talked about indications from at least one supervisor that the township would be using capital improvement money to get a salt and sand shed for winter road work, and another loader, but they haven't materialized. Good said she realizes emergencies can arise that require using money for other needs. But if the board "can't fulfill the people's motions, it should at least explain why," she suggested. "That's where open and honest government comes in. The people's budget is our money. It's my money, my neighbors' money. It shouldn't be forgotten whose money this is." Good, addressing questions about Baldwin's roads that some residents have raised, said she believes the township should not use the same standards for its roads outside the developments as it requires the developers to use. She charged the board with "living by a double standard" on that issue. She said she feels the board is heading in the right direction with its roads but that it "has a long way to go in that the board doesn't let the maintenance department do what should be done." Good said roads can be maintained properly if the board budgeted enough for them and plans far enough ahead. The township is now trying to catch up, she said. Good serves on Baldwin's parks committee and was on a task force to help the township decide what kind of development should go along the highway where it goes through Baldwin. Regarding parks, she said a $2,000 levy was approved for parks in Baldwin but the fund was never created. People in the township's departments should have an "absolute say" in what is done in those departments if it follows what the residents had approved at their annual meetings, said Good. Or if the money is not given to the department to use as scheduled, the Board should "give a darn good reason why," she said. Good favors studying the idea of incorporation very closely, calling it a "step not to be taken lightly." Baldwin could maintain its autonomy if it became a city but Baldwin is also not prepared to meet the needs that would go with it, she said. Good said she sees pros and cons in having the township's own zoning powers. It's difficult to tell someone who has purchased land as a "nest egg" that they can't sell to a developer, she said. Good also called for the township to change its process of advising the county about its wishes regarding development proposals. Good endorsed Supervisor Elly Rittenour's attempt to have a new process regarding that. It would have required people within a quarter mile of a proposed development site to be notified to give input at the township level. (Rittenour's motion died for lack of a second.) Why elect Good? "I have volunteered for nine years in my community and I feel I have the time to devote, especially since my husband has been deployed [out of country in the military]. "I feel I could make some effective changes. If somebody brings a concern to the town board it should be addressed and not tabled until it falls off the end of the page." Hall Hall, 68, a retired teacher, began his 28 years as a Baldwin official with the first three years as clerk and the rest as supervisor. Hall was a leading force in starting the township's fire and rescue department and took barbs from the people who voiced opposition to his claims about how much it would cost and how it could be done. Last Friday Hall praised the fire department but admitted that the cost to start it was about $100,000 higher than he had foreseen. The total bill came to about $632,000. Hall said his reasons for running again include wanting to continue the road program Baldwin recently started. The goal is to have the 4.6 miles of Baldwin's roads that aren't blacktopped to be asphalt within five years, he noted. The project to fill road cracks, something that was stopped after being done three years ago, will also resume, he said. The biggest change in Baldwin's road program is that the board had its engineer classify all of Baldwin's roads A, B, C or D, D being the lowest. A and B roads make up 85 percent of Baldwin's roads, while C is attached to 10 percent and D is labeled on five percent. Baldwin has 83 miles of roads. Hall said that shows that the board has done a good job in maintaining its roads. One of Baldwin's roads that many have watched deteriorate is the frontage road past Marv's True Value. The holdup now for Baldwin to fix that road, said Hall, is that it is waiting for an answer from the state for permission to drain the water that collects on the west edge of the road over to the ditch on the east side. If that can't be done, then it will have to be routed west, because collecting water damages the road, he explained. Roads and drainage are two major issues in Baldwin, said Hall. Hall told about hearing someone recently say they couldn't understand how Baldwin could operate with such a "low budget." Hall noted that this year's budget is $639,000 and that it is a 32-percent increase over last year, and is mainly due to road plans. Hall also said the board is held up by the DNR in how it can correct a bad, low portion of 136th Street. Hall said he can see the benefits of more state aid through incorporation, as well as stopping annexation by the city of Princeton, but also sees the problems of a higher cost of running the township. Baldwin's taxes could go up 50 percent if it is incorporated, he said. More staff and equipment would be among the costs, he said. Regarding the idea of Baldwin having zoning powers, Hall said more research is needed. On the issue of dealing with so many development proposals coming to Baldwin, Hall said that the board has opposed some proposals but since Sherburne is in charge of approving or denying them, the township has no power there. And, "yes, developers do threaten us with court," said Hall. Unless the township has legal ground to withstand a lawsuit, then it's no use to go to court, he added. One thing the board is requiring of developers with projects where the sites connect with a trail system is to put in extra-wide road shoulders, Hall noted. Hall said that he doesn't foresee increasing the budget for 2004 because of the increase that came this year. But there may be some reapportionment, he noted. Priority capital items are road equipment, especially for snow removal, he said. He also said a salt and sand shed is moving up on the priority list. Hall was given the chance to respond to some remarks from Good about the use of funds. He said the books are open to the public during the township hours and doesn't feel that anything has been mismanaged. Why reelect Hall? "I have experience dealing with developers, contractors, government officials and township employees," he said. "I've contributed much in terms of time working on township problems. I'm very regular at board meetings and other meetings where we learn much about running a township. "Many issues come before the board where previous experience is an important factor." Princeton Union-Eagle |