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Dwayne asked other's opinions on this subject so here are
mine. I've tried to go along with Dwayne's
questions/comments.
This entire topic reminds me of the lyrics of a song "the
times they are a changing". .
I think you could replace the word "growth" with the word "change"
in Dwayne's post. Winona has had a difficult time with
change. I think the majority would agree with me. I agree
that change for the sake of change is a poor idea. It only makes
people question the change, and if it accomplishes nothing it only
angers those that had to change. When people ask about Winona I
often tell people Winona is like stepping back in time. To about
the 1970's. We are now grappling with an issue that other
communities dealt with years and years ago.
I would like to know why Winona hasn't changed or grown compared to
other communities? We have been told that Winona can't grow
because of the bluffs and the river. Nonsense. Growth
can happen and it has happened, but slowly. Why haven't businesses
come to Winona?
Winona added 70 acres of land with the dredging of the lake.
Yes, the land was already in the city limits and was intended for
commercial and industrial "growth" but it is now useful for
building. We could go into this subject and talk about what was
sold to the community, but I think that horse has already been beaten to
death. If we add industrial and retail space where are all the
people suppose to live that will move to Winona? Will there
be affordable housing options for people moving to Winona? Should
we tell businesses they are welcome but don't build any homes?
Could some of WAPS current financial problems be traced back to the
lack of growth or change in Winona? I don't know and that is
why I'm asking. Dwayne stated that Winona hasn't grown much in the
last 25 years. I would bet there has been little growth in the
last 100 years. Yes, I do realize there are more charter schools
and the enrollment in private schools is on the rise. Why is
this so? Could it be that the WAPS has failed to see the need for
different learning environments that can be offered by different
schools? Could it be that WAPS has failed to change with the
times? If WAPS would have offered magnet schools or different
learning environments would this have changed the
current situation that we are in? If Winona had grown
over the past 100 years would the population of school aged
children be different than now? Would the median age of a
Winonan be lower than 28.8 years old?
According to the 2000 census less than 4% of all the
housing units in Winona are empty. The figure for the 1990 census
is about the same. Many posts on WOD have talked about the need
for affordable housing units. How many houses in the town of
Wilson's Springbook subdivision are affordable to the average income
person? By the way the average Winona income for 2000
was roughly $33,000. What is the average price of a home in
Springbrook? Take a look at the newspaper and see what
"starter homes" in the city are selling for. The majority are
going for over $100,000. Hardly the price I would
consider for a starter home. How many vacant residential lots
are out there? How long does the average lot stay for sale?
What is the price of an average lot in Winona?
I think the city has been "redeveloping" the older neighborhoods in
Winona. Streets have been removed and replaced. New water
lines and sewer lines. New curb and gutter. The new dredged
in area was in the "old East End" in fact it is even further east of
Mankato. The Pelzer St. construction and future overpasses.
The list can go on.
I personally don't believe the county has much business or say in
how the city of Winona grows or changes. The county has enough on
its plate as it is nor should it tell one governmental body how to go
about doing business. I've read posts about how the city and the
county need to work together. If the county gets involved in
issues that shouldn't concern the county the divisiveness will only go
deeper. The Phillips property, whether it is developed or not,
will always be in the county. Why hasn't the county been involved
in St. Charles' growth? Farm land was annexed into the city and
now is part of the "burb" there. Why wasn't the county involved in
Stockton's recent development? What about Goodview's recent
annexations? Where was the county then? If the county's land
use plan didn't envision growth or change in Winona I would say that
there wasn't much thought into the plan.
I find it difficult to swallow that 85,000 farmers over the past 5
years have been forced from their farms due to subdivisions.
Could it be that prices for milk, corn, soybeans and other commodities
have remained low thus making it difficult for the average American
farmer that has 40 milking cows and 160 acres of land to make a
living? When the break even point for a dairy farmer is
around $14 a hundred weight it is tough to make a go of
it. The American farmers can be partly to blame for the
loss of farmers. There have been major improvements in
farming in the recent years that have brought farm prices down
and production up.
If there is a county road that due to design and construction has
contributed to a fatal accident in Winona County I suggest that road be
fixed tomorrow and pray that nobody dies on it tonight. If there
is a road out there like that and the county knows about it.....can you
say lawsuit? Where are those roads so I can stay off of
them? The overwhelming majority of fatal accidents in the
county and city of Winona can be blamed on driver inattentiveness,
speed, and alcohol. I've yet seen one due to design or
construction. There won't be a 500 car influx over night.
Traffic patterns can be determined and fixed. I don't see this as
a major issue. I find it a stretch to compare Winona's
potential traffic woes to that of the Twin Cities, but then again I
wonder.
I envision affordable building lots within the city of Winona that
are serviced by water and sewer so housing will become more
affordable. I envision that by the city being able to provide
water and sewer the city is actually saving farm land for future
generations and helping saving our environment better than septic
tanks.
I applaud the city leaders for "thinking out of the box" on this
issue. Yes, Winona can grow/change. I know that on
this subject (just like the majority of subjects on WOD)my view isn't
that of the norm. But, that is okay. If we all held the same
ideas wouldn't this be a boring place?
Yes, "times are a changing" and we can either embrace
the changes and attempt direct the changes to suit our
needs or the changes will happen and catch us off guard
wondering what just ran us over.
Chris
Nelson | 