[Winona Online Democracy]
King or Queen for a day?......Hmmm......Seems like
that's what WOD is all about..... There is an opportunity for all of us to be
King/Queen for a day through interaction and involvement in a democratic
process.
Here are some
questions.
How do we encourage families to refurbish in town
rentals and houses? How do we encourage businesses, stores, and
organizations to take the capital risk to start or expand an in
town/neighborhood location? How do we create a sense of community in a
city where the city is the "PLACE TO BE", where people want to live in
the city because they can be close to a neighborhood coffee shop, a neat school,
library, or book store, a happenin' place that plays great music, or a
great restaurant that you have to wait in line to get into?
Why do people live in the city? Doesn't
everyone want to live 10 miles out of town on a 4 acre ranch where they can
mow their 3 acre lawn every week and drive 25 minutes to take their kids to
soccer or to pick up a gallon of milk? Of course not. We
live in a diverse society where fortunately some want to live in the city and
some want to be away from it all. So what about people who want to be
away from it all but need to also have it all? Wow, this get's
expensive! Someone has to pay build and maintain the roads, make sure
houses everywhere get cable tv and running water, and get everybody's
kids to school every day. This costs a lot if everyone lives on a 4 acre
lot halfway up the side of some hill.
Obviously, there should be a balance between
carefully planned development in new areas that matches population
growth and continuous revitaliation of the city that provides the life and
vitality in the area. Growth itself isn't bad as long as it is sustainable
(i.e. designed for the long term). However, in a democratic system no one
area or group should monopolize the resources needed for both planned
sustainable growth and continuous, vibrant revitalization of the
city.
So does Winona have this balance? What has
the population growth been for Winona over the past 25 years. 10 -
15%?? What is the projected growth in Winona for the next 25
years. Another 10 - 15%??? Not sure. What percentage of city
resources (direct and indirect) have gone to building streets, lights, sewer
services, fire, police, cable, phone, garbage, etc etc etc in the new
developments (Knopp Valley, We Valley, Valley Oaks, Gilmore Valley, Pleasant
Valley) over this same time period. What percentage of city
resources will continue to be allocated to additional new areas like Wilson
Township over the next 25 years. 50% - 75%???? Not
sure either. Thankfully this is a forum where you don't have to have
100% of the the facts in since the purpose of WOD is to stimulate a
conversation and discussion and not to try and prove people wrong if they miss a
fact or two.
So if new developments for 10% - 15% population
growth have consumed 50% - 75% of city resources over the past 25 years what
needs to happen to bring this back into balance? Also, how did things get
so out of balance in the first place?
Is there a political or business coalition in place
that values "hard growth" (pipes, roads, sewers, etc) in new
developments vs. revitalization and "soft growth" (libraries, art, music,
schools, etc) within the city? Is there a open discussion
within the community of these issues with these coalitions as part of
the vibrant political process within the community?
Or does Winona already have its monarchy in place without realizing it
through years of uncontested elections.
So, again what is the incentive for anyone to
invest in city revitalization? Developers develop because there is
an antipated financial reward that outweighs the risk. What's the
incentive for anyone to do the same in the city? Will a homeowner
spend $50K - $100K sprucing up a rental property just becuase it's "good
for the city"? Will a business owner invest $250K in risk capital
starting a deli/coffee shop in the old Knitting Mills just because it's "good
for Winona"? Will an organization start a "Rock Solid II" in the
Winona Mall within walking distance of 2 High Schools just
becuase it's the "right thing to do"? Not sure again. I
suspect some will and some won't. Some will try and fail
even though they have great intentions for building community because they just
couldn't make ends meet and didn't have deep enough financial backing to make it
past the first few years. I think Winona and WOD needs to think
about whether revitalization happens by chance or whether it is the
results of targeted investment in key areas of the city.
Remember the game Sim City? Build a park, school, park or museum and all
the businesses and homes in the area begin to thrive and grow. Build too
much on the outskirts and all the old stuff in the middle of the city starts to
turn brown and die.
Enough questions. Here are some
suggestions (for discussion and conversation of course).
1) Increase the sales tax from 1% to 2% not only to
finance more roads and pipes and other "stuff" for a train underpass but
also for community revitalization loans and grants to homeowners,
businesses, and organizations. Target revitalization in key
neighborhoods within "old Winona". The places that have only seen 5 - 10%
of city funding over the past 25 years even though 25% of Winonians live in
these areas. Homeowners in these areas get a X year moratorium on
property tax increases on improvements made to their properly. Businesses
get low or no cost loans for a period of Y years. Organizations
get grants, partnerships, or at the very least free publicity for a
period of Z years. The numbers probably don't have to be huge, it's the
"buzz" that's important when people realize THEIR neighborhood matters to
the city as much as one of those "new" developments.
2) Encourage someone (or 2, 3, 4, 5 someone's) from
WOD to run for political office in Winona this year and every year.
Why??? To throw out the monarchy?? Not
necessarily. More importantly WOD's should run to encourage discussion,
political dialogue, and conversation. None of us can be king or queen if
we aren't participants in the political process. An actual debate between
3 - 4 candidates in a Ward election would be a wonderful thing.
A mayoral debate between Jerry Miller, Dwayne
Voegeli, and Rick Iglesias at Somsen Hall would probably be the most well
attended event in Winona since the GRSF. And then we would all
walk downtown and spend time browsing and talking at "Winona Lights"
Bookstore" which replaced the Adult Bookstore downtown, and walk across the
street to eat at Panera's because the new upscale restaraunt at the old Middle
School was just too long of a wait.........
Dave Derks
7045 Woodland Blvd
(507) 453-0902
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, July 11, 2004 1:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Winona] Wilson Township Question:
What would you do?
> [Winona Online Democracy]
>
> Alright....if I were
Queen:
>
> How can we encourage families to purchase an in-town
"rental" and refurbish
> it to its former state of elegance ?
> It
would be convenient to the central city, there would be a feeling of
>
history, you would have done the property
> and surrounding area a favor,
it would not need extended city services, and
> could probably be done for
less
> than the quarter-million that a large new home in the outskirts
would cost.
>
> Perhaps the persons living in the downtown area,
where off-street parking is
> at a premium, could have
identification
> on their vehicle allowing them to come and go from
downtown long-terms lots
> without an accompanying parking fine.
>
> How about both end positions of every block of parking be designated as
a
> 10-minute space? I have mentioned this one before in another
venue. It
> would facilitate necessary errands such as having your
eyeglasses adjusted.
> And, "errand runners" wouldn't tie up the mid-block
parking for those who
> want to do some serious long-term shopping or
dining or meeting.
>
> Would someone like to hop on a band-wagon
with me for campaigns for "Adopt a
> Block" and "Adopt a Storm
Sewer"?
>
> How many family homes are for sale within the city
limits in any given
> period of time? Are those property owners just
"circulating", or are they
> leaving the city? How many "new"
families are arriving each year? Should
> we consider
>
"in-fill" before we "add-on"?
>
> Enough of my Queen-for-a-day
thought-starters. What's more, it's my second
> limit-of-two for
today.
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dwayne Voegeli" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To:
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Sent:
Saturday, July 10, 2004 12:42 PM
> Subject: [Winona] Wilson Township
Question: What would you do?
>
>
> > [Winona Online
Democracy]
> >
> > Arlene asked about subjects worthy of
comment.
> >
> > How about if we return to the discussion of
the Wilson Township issue?
> >
> > -----
> >
>
> If you were King/Queen for the day, what would you do about the
Wilson
> > Township issue?
> >
> > Partial,
incomplete, or half-cooked ideas are fair game.
> >
> > Maybe
betwixt the lot of us, we can come up with some interesting ideas.
>
>
> > :->
> >
> > Dwayne
> >
>
> July 10, 2004
> >
> > -----
> > >
>
> >
> > >In the past week I have received 4 of Duane
Peterson's from last
> February,
> > >and 1 each from Vicki
and from Phil to comment on those.
> > >Has almost all conversation
taken a summer sabbatical? Or have we no
> > >subjects worthy
of comment or constructive criticism?
> >
> >
------------
> >
> > Dwayne Voegeli
> >
> >
Winona County Commissioner, District #2
> >
> > (507)
453-9012
> >
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
>
> 359 Pleasant Hill Dr.
> > Winona, MN 55987
>
>
> > ------------
> >
> >
> >
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>
>
>
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