Centerville Tidbits
Council To Interview P&Z Applicants
The Centerville City Council will interview three applicants for a vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Commission, and a selection could be announced as early as December 13.
The council had been expected to fi ll the vacancy at its November 29 meeting after the opening attracted applicants Darin Mosher, Eric Weinroth and Ben Fehrenbacher.
But the council instead decided to interview all three candidates during the week of December 4 if the applicants' schedules allow it, Mayor Mary Capra noted in an interview following the November 29 meeting.
If the interviews are completed in time, the vacancy could be filled by the council's next meeting on December 13, Capra said.
Press deadlines prevented an announcement in time for this edition of The Citizen. If the new commission member's identity is available, it will be included in the paper's December 27 edition.
Mosher, a Centerville resident since 1993, applied for the vacancy in an October 27 letter to the council in which he noted that "I am a leader in my professional life as I have been a manager for the last 19 years, and I have an interest in serving my community."
Weinroth, a resident for the last year-and-a-half with an MBA degree from the Wharton School of Business, cited his "strong business background, ability to function effectively in a team-based group . and a decisiveness when it is required, along with a genuine desire to make the city the best it can be."
Fehrenbacher, also a yearand- a-half resident with an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, commented in his application that "I can bring a fresh perspective to the . committee. And, because I work from home, I am available throughout the day as needed."
Lawsuit Delays Sex Offender Ordinance
The American Civil Liberties Union's decision to challenge Taylors Falls' trailblazing sex-offender ordinance led the Centerville council to indefi nitely postpone action on a similar proposal.
City Attorney Kurt Glaser announced the ACLU's decision at the council's November 29 meeting and advised the council to delay action until legal wrangling concludes. The Taylors Falls ordinance was adopted earlier this year.
The legal challenge might not end for "more than two years," he said.
"This is a novel decision that could go to the (US) Supreme Court," Glaser added.
Among other things, the Taylors Falls ordinance bans designated sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school, day care center, park or playground, or within 1,000 feet of a public school bus stop, "place of worship" with "regular educational programs, or other places where children are known to congregate."
The ordinance also bans designated sex offenders from participating in such holiday events as trick-or-treating, wearing a Santa Claus costume or wearing an Easter Bunny costume.
Pawlenty Invited To Sesquicentennial Centerville offi cials have invited Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to dedicate new parkland at the city's 150th birthday celebration in August.
Pawlenty had not responded to the invitation as of press time, but he was a key figure at nearby Hugo's centennial celebration earlier this year.
According to Mayor Mary Capra, officials hope the governor will agree to dedicate an as-yet unnamed parkland parcel near Centerville's LaMotte Park.
Backage Road Payment OKd
The City Council also approved a $273,699.56 payment to the Hanover-based Burschville Construction Inc. for work done to date on Centerville's downtown backage road and 21st Avenue project near Main Street.
The payment, approved unanimously by the council November 29, includes site grading, sewer and water main improvements, street paving and other work on the project, which is intended to ease downtown business access during 2007 construction on County Road 14.
The company had previously been paid $533.859.44 of the project's $1.13 million cost, which includes a $13,103 change order under which Burschville agreed to utility and street improvement on Old Mill Road, a watermain extension requested by Lino Lakes and a new project deadline, according to documents distributed as part of the council's agenda packet.