School district and St. Croix Meadows owners request more time in rezoning effort
September 12, 2012 at 11:57 am in Hudson Star-Observer
In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, The Hudson School District of Hudson, along with the St. Croix Meadows owners, announced that they have delivered letters today to the mayor and city council members requesting a continuance on the decision for rezoning St. Croix Meadows. Continue Reading
As I said earlier (though my comment seems to have disappeared) the best thing the school district could do to address the city’s tax revenue loss both now and into the future would be to not put a school at SCM. Case closed.
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Keep in mind that taking SCM off of the tax rolls not only effects the city of Hudson but also StCroix County and the VTAE districts. There is no question that a Wal-Mart type business would be a better fit for that location and also reduce the tax burden of all home owners.
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Walmart and Target looked at SCM and said “No Thank You.”
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When was that? It just went for sale on March of 2011. The school snatched it up so fast no one had a chance. And Walmart also said no to the piece of property where Ulineis now building
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This move tells me a few things: (1) the School District doesn’t believe it has enough votes to get the rezoning approved on Monday. If they felt they had the votes, they certainly would not be asking for a continuance, (2) the article states, “The school district and St. Croix Meadows owners are requesting time to work together with City Council representatives to develop a mutual agreement that will benefit all parties.” I hope that this “working together” does not mean that the School District expects to meet with council members outside of open meetings. As a citizen of the City, I would be very upset if the Council agrees to have any meetings with the School District outside of its regular open-to-the-public meetings, and (3) this looks like CYA for the School District in the event they don’t get the property rezoned. This way they can argue in litigation, or in the court of public opinion, that “We did everything we could, but the City would just not cooperate.” I hope the Council members don’t fall for this. They need to remember that they are up against a first-class manipulator: Mary Bowen-Eggebraatan.
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Received this email from the proponents of rezoning the Dog Track. This shows the lengths these people go to ram this waste of money through. If you oppose the rezoning please take advantage of the counsel member’s email addresses they provided and let them know.
From: Vote Yes Hudson Schools
Date: September 14, 2012 7:01:15 AM CDT
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: URGENT: New Developments/Needs in Re-Zoning Issue
Hello Dog Track-to-School Supporters,
Things have been moving and swirling since the Planning Commission meeting — we have new information to share and important TO-DO’s to request of you.
The track owners & School District have requested a continuance from the City Council — a postponement of Monday’s re-zoning decision — in order to work collaboratively with the City Council, share new information, and together determine solutions to the ‘loss of dog-track tax revenue’ issue. The Mayor has replied that Monday’s meeting is still a go – but that at that meeting, the Council can decide whether or not to grant the continuance.
1) First and foremost, we again need your presence at Monday’s City Council Meeting (Monday, Sept 17th, 7 pm, 3rd & Walnut Streets).
Whether the continuance is granted (our preference) or the discussion/decision on re-zoning happens at that meeting, WE NEED YOU THERE. We filled the place for the Planning Commission Meeting – let’s do that again!! If you couldn’t make it last time, come to this meeting. If you were at the last meeting, come see this through!
2) EVERYBODY WRITE!!!
City of Hudson or not – all of us need to now write to City Council Members (addresses below). If you live in City of Hudson, identify yourself as such. If you don’t live in City of Hudson, write anyway. We are all affected by this upcoming re-zoning vote. We believe the City Council is receiving letters from those opposed (from within AND outside of the City) so let’s not let those voices be the only ones heard. All of us who believe that a secondary school at St. Croix Meadows is the best, most fiscally-prudent, forward-thinking solution – we’re the majority. We need to continue to make our majority status evident.
Your letters and notes to City Council Members could address the following points:
On granting the continuance for negotiation/sharing of ideas —
Example points: The Planning Commission Meeting did not represent an open-minded, reasonable, courteous discourse of issues. Reasonable discourse should be expected between units of government / within the same community / looking to best meet the needs of its children, families and business owners. The emotion and hostility evident at that meeting is not fertile ground for solving problems. Please grant the requested continuance in order to ensure a cool-headed, open-to-ideas kind of solution for this community. Please work with the school board to come to a solution. There should be no feelings of us against them from either body. There should be only a joint question on the table of “how can we solve this…?” Smart, dedicated people on the City Council and School Board can surely sit together, work cooperatively and reach mutually beneficial solutions to put Hudson in good standing for years to come. An objective, reasoned look at the facts shows St. Croix Meadows to be the best location for Hudson’s High School of the future. I’d like Hudson’s City Council and Hudson’s School Board to work cooperatively to overcome any obstacles in making that school happen. We must rezone SCM. Let’s figure out how to make that happen while meeting the City’s revenue needs.
On the issue of commercially-zoned property in Hudson –
Example points: The City’s concern over loss of commercially-zoned property/tax revenue is solvable and deserves creative thinking and negotiation. Please grant the requested continuance in order to ferret out all possible solutions to the issue of commercially taxable land in Hudson. What about the County-owned 35 acres at Vine and Carmichael? Can that be re-zoned commercial? What about 10+ acres set aside as ‘commercial’ as part of the SCM-to-school development plan? What revenue will that generate? What other as-yet-uncovered revenue opportunities are out there? An objective, reasoned look at the facts shows St. Croix Meadows to be the best location for Hudson’s High School of the future. I’d like Hudson’s City Council and Hudson’s School Board to work together to consider these and any other tax generating opportunities. I want the City of Hudson to thrive AND the school to be built at SCM. We must rezone SCM. Now let’s figure out how to make that happen while meeting the City’s revenue needs.
As always, a respectful tone is most appreciated. Make your support for rezoning clear. Express support for cooperation, negotiation and mutually beneficial problem-solving between the City and School Board.
Hand written letters (always a special impact) can be mailed or dropped off to…
{Council Member name}
City of Hudson
505 3rd Street
Hudson, WI 54016
Email letters sent to:
MAYOR
Alan Burchill
386-4765, Ext. 120
mayor@ci.hudson.wi.us
ALDERPERSON
Randy Morrissette II
715-222-8890
District 1
District1@ci.hudson.wi.us
ALDERPERSON
Rich Vanselow
386-8949
District 6
District6@ci.hudson.wi.us
ALDERPERSON
Mary Yacoub
715-760-9897
District 2
District2@ci.hudson.wi.us
ALDERPERSON
John Hoggatt
612-221-3107
District 5
District5@ci.hudson.wi.us
ALDERPERSON
Lori Bernard
381-5539
District 3
District3@ci.hudson.wi.us
ALDERPERSON
Kurt A. TeWinkel
715-316-9004
District 4
District4@ci.hudson.wi.us
Thank you for your continued commitment to stand by your April vote and fight for the best solution for Hudson’s kids –St. Croix Meadows.
Holler with any questions and I’ll try to get you an answer.
I’m off to write my letters…
Hope to see you Monday!
Ellen
–
Ellen Montgomery
Vote Yes Hudson Schools – Committee Member
VoteYesHudsonVolunteers@gmail.com
612-703-8438
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nobody ever mentions the tens of millions its goign to cost to remodel- set up this school, not to mention the most expensive part….the staff…
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