[Winona Online Democracy]
Title: VIRTUAL DEBATE -Paul Double
"From Paul Double"
While I do not believe bigger
is always better, I do believe Winona area's population needs to grow
by about 7,000 people. That growth needs to consist of working
parents ages 25-45 with 1-2 children.. The economic benefits to
the community as a whole are huge if we use the base data as published
September 2004 American City & County magazine from a report to
the U.S. Conference of Mayors this year. That report listed
average income figures for the different sectors of the work force.
Using data published for Winona County in 2002 when the average income
was $36,789 it is projected to be $38,647 by
2005.
The addition of 7,000 people
brings with it $22,543,850 per year in new payroll generated from the
2,332 new families. It also brings 60+ children per grade level
to our K-12 schools and has a total economic impact of almost
158 million dollars. What a great way to fill our
built but under used, schools and provide our district with the
considerable state aid educational dollars that follow their
numbers. The importance of this data is to know that
retail and tourism jobs pay the least when compared to all the other
sectors of the work force. The driving focus for employment
needs to be first professional, scientific, technical, financial,
insurance, durable manufacturing, transportation, warehousing,
construction, healthcare and social assistance, for it is these jobs,
on average, that pay better than twice as much as tourism and almost
twice as much as retail.
Having said all that�..City
Planning and Land Use needs to be focused not on
residential housing developments but on building our manufacturing and
transportation related employer base by creating industrial
manufacturing, transportation, warehousing and service (such as claims
processing) sector jobs. Retail jobs do not drive the train,
they are the caboose. I believe area job growth will
benefit Winona and that annexation for subdivisions is not necessary,
as it will happen as people want space and can afford to invest in
their piece of the planet. Home ownership has always been the
safest investment one can make over their lifetime. It will
happen and the city need not use resources, nor waste staff time to
fight over housing turf.
What we need is to recognize
that Winona needs to be more than a retirement community, another Red
Wing, Stillwater, Lanesboro, Dubuque or Wabasha. We need
to be Winona � with an economic industrial base second to few, we
have natural beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities that are the
envy of most. We have abundant quality local and regional healthcare
and educational facilities and most important a place to want to start
a business, grow a business, go to school, raise a family and call it
home.
As Winona's Mayor, I will
work with the county, the townships, Goodview, the k-12 and higher
educational organizations to expand jobs in our area and sound
economic activity. I will debate and work with the council
to gain their support to eliminate the single issue, which is the base
of most if not all state wide boundary disputes, ownership of a
sewage treatment facility. Ours, like other treatment
plants, was for the most part initially built, with federal grants
to serve the area and not to be used as the controlling
club to play the annexation game. I know, I sat at the table as
a hearing officer and member of the State Municipal Board, and time
after time the message delivered was the same. He who holds
ownership of the waste water treatment plant and has the deepest
pockets wins. While some would have you believe it has to do
with good planning, orderly development, environmental protection, the
fact is most Township Supervisors and County Commissioners are just as
good stewards of the land and planning as City Councils and for the
most part know the area a whole lot better and are more in tune to the
families affected by the outcome.
If you live in Winona, I ask
for your vote. If not, ask your friends who do to vote for me.
If you don't like my message please stay home on November
2nd. J
Paul B. Double
\
--
Randy Schenkat 1358 Skyline Dr. Winona, Mn
55987 507-452-7168
_______________________________________________
This message was posted to Winona Online Democracy
All messages must be signed by the senders actual name.
No commercial solicitations are allowed on this list.
To manage your subscription or view the message archives, please visit
http://mapnp.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/winona
Any problems or suggestions can be directed to
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
If you want help on how to contact elected officials, go to the Contact page at
http://www.winonaonlinedemocracy.org
