[Winona Online Democracy] In today's Winona Daily News, Sunday, December 26, 2004, they are starting a five part series "examining different aspects of the proposed annexation of the land in Wilson Township to the city of Winona."
The newspaper states today's first part "deals with the historical roots of the issue." I think a five part series that does an in-depth, truly objective, and fair study of the issue could be a great addition to the community discussion of the issue. ------ Here are some questions from today's story: 1. Real Growth or Simply Bigger Boundaries? How much of the City's growth is real growth or is the larger number simply due to bigger boundaries or some combination thereof? For example, let's say I have a class size of 35 students. If I knock down the walls of the neighboring classrooms and swallow up two other teacher's students, can I say my class is growing? What about the whole school's population. If we use Winona County's population growth numbers, how much of it is due to Winona vs. St. Charles and other cities? 2. WSU Growth? How much of the City's growth is due to WSU's student enrollement growth? ------- Here are some questions I hope may be addressed in the remaining four stories: 1. I'm sure the advantages of "growth" will be discussed as the gospel truth. Will the disadvantages and huge hidden costs of growth be discussed? (i.e. future traffic/road problems, infrastructure costs, water pollution, effects on farm land, etc.) Will any mention of sustainability be made? 2. Could some kind of aerial photo be shown that documents how the city is sprawling outwards while the population is relatively static? 3. Can a listing of existing City projects and problems be shown? Does the City have enough staff and money to undertake these expensive new projects and still take care of it's existing work? (i.e. Pelzer Street, Louisa Street, Mankato Ave, Garvin Heights--in 2-3 locations, the Hwy 14 and the Gilmore and Knopp Valley intersection, etc.?) 4. Will the balloon and string annexation pay for itself or does the City need to annex everything behind the balloon to pay for these large new costs? Is this story really just about the Phillips property? Are there other property owners or developers who have plans that depend on this annexation in either Wilson or Homer Townships? 5. Will different perspectives be discussed or will the stories continue to be City Council and staff centric? Will other related factors be discussed? 6. Are there better ways to plan for and deal with these kinds of problems? ------- What other questions or ideas do the rest of you have? Dwayne Voegeli December 26, 2004 ------------ Dwayne Voegeli Winona County Commissioner (507) 453-9012 [EMAIL PROTECTED] 359 Pleasant Hill Dr. Winona, MN 55987 ------------ _______________________________________________ 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
