Proctor surprises Midway with annexation move
December 4, 2012 at 6:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
The city of Proctor once again has moved to annex its next-door neighbor, Midway Township, an effort that’s likely to cause another battle across the Ugstad Road border. Continue Reading
1. “Boundary adjustment???” So, by being duplicitous and deceptive in your agenda wording at Step Zero of the process, you thought maybe that would build trust and generate positive energy? Or perhaps you knew that any mention of “annexation” or “Midway” would fill your chambers with cranky townspeople and make it impossible to slip this by?
2. Proctor, you have over a mile of I-35 east of Ugstad that you haven’t effectively developed. Blog readers: Take a look as you drive by…the under-maintained homes west of Village Drive; the (vacant?) Peepers building; the Fill-In-The-Swamp Guy and his neighbors on the north side of the freeway; the old Earthmovers site between the hotel and the RR tracks. It seems you have plenty of room for commercial growth within your borders. Before you go land-grabbing others’ property, maybe you should show you can take care of your own.
3. Midway pays on a contract for fire protection. Police back up the County on LE calls, and that door swings both ways (maybe Proctor should write a check to Hermantown and St. Louis County, no?). Backing up other agencies is the right thing to do from a safety perspective, and by increasing the call load helps justify staffing levels. If the contract isn’t fair compensation, then modify it, but don’t paint the picture that Midway is getting these services for free.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Couldn’t agree more Senty!
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Just drive down “main street” of Proctor and see that half the buildings and properties are empty. The same can be said of Proctor’s portion of the I-35 corridor. Mr. Rohweder’s claim of needing room to grow and expand? Look at your own main street.
A few years ago Midway township did an extensive comprehensive survey of its residents. The very vast majority responded and overwhelmingly stated they did not want any changes to the plan for the I-35 corridor in Midway township. This is the “plum” that Proctor covets. However, even a very pretty girl can always say no.
Why does Proctor see the need to start another round of annexation every few years? Look down your own main street first! Let Midway contol its own destiny.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Oh boy, now we have something to talk about..
Go Proctor..!
Fight, fight Midway..!
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I will boycott Proctor if they annex Midway township land!
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Attaboy Stevie, you git em! If that doesn’t make them think twice then nothing will.
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Steve’s post shows just how powerless and hopeless everyone is feeling. Every thiing is decided somewhere else by someone else.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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ROTFL
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Proctor is struggling to make ends meet because their city is so poorly run. They want more land when they can’t develop what they have. They fabricate stories of big box retailers coming. The ibly successful bussinesses are bars, and 2 of them just went out of business! Proctor is run by a bunch of clowns.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Townships are a relic of the past. The elected officials are always people who have personal business interests within the Township and want to be able to make the rules. They scare the people by saying without the Township they will pay higher taxes and won’t be able to shoot a deer in their backyard anymore. In theory, a larger tax base should mean lower taxes.
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Lower taxes may for the Proctor residents, but definitely not for Midway Township residents.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Ted, your intellect demonstrates you’re a very wise man which is much more than I can say for many of the Midway folks.
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To spur serious economic development and growth, Proctor should build a commuter rail line.
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Annexation may make sense if the city next to a township is growing, prospering and literally growing right up to and around the township…..the article even states this fact. However, Proctor isn’t growing and this looks pretty much like a property tax grab of the Midway residents. I can almost guarantee you that Midway Twp property taxes will go up a significant amount if this annexation happens.
What additional services will all or even most of the Midway residents get that they aren’t getting now ? Is Proctor going to run city water and sewer lines to Midway residents ? Probably not. Proctor said they need room to grow…..well maybe they should fill up their current boundaries with new residents and businesses before they try to grab the land of township residents who seem happy with things just the way they are.
If Proctor wants this, then they need to sell the township on the idea and show them how much benefit being part of Proctor could offer then and be honest with them about the effect on their property taxes and how much in additional services they would receive for the increase. My guess is that would be a hard argument to put together without smirking while you present it…so don’t hold your breath on that.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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On December 7th 1941 Japan attempted a boundary adjustment by annexing other Pacific ocean territories using a sneak attack. We all know how that fiasco ended.
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Huh???
Could you please cite a reference that speaks to the state “doing away with townships?” If such a thing exists, do you hear that Grand Lake? Canosia? Lakewood? Solway? Brevator? Duluth? Pequaywan? Cotton? Northland? Industrial? New Independence? Rice Lake?
Despite urban sprawl, there is still a lot more rural land than urban, and the township is the basic unit of government to manage these areas.
Also, could you please cite the source where Midway had to choose who would annex them?
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Here’s something more to read about the current trend in MN:
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2011/12/minnesotas-cities-grow-its-townships-fade-away/823/
Someone had a much better governmental link the last go around, but I can’t find it. I’m just saying if indeed it looks like townships are going out the window, then Midway could have certainly made the first move and ask a surrounding city to be annexed to it.
Besides, this thing will go to court several times before it’s over. It will all come down to what judge is making the decision and if the losing party doesn’t agree and it can scrape up the money, they will appeal and the whole thing will start all over again.
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A rather myopic Metro point of view, don’t you think? The author asserts that townships are “disappearing;” then talks about Hennepin and Anoka counties and applies the template (read: alleged “trend”) to all of Minnesota. Has the author visited St. Louis county? Polk? Kittson? Aitkin? It will be a long time before anybody annexes North Star township, or Prairie Lake, or Ellsburg.
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I don’t live in either effected community, but did years ago. My question is all the hearsay of taxes going up, but I have seen nothing to substantiate this claim.. If I had a vote I would vote in favor of Midway thou, as it is their choice and “Big Brother” should leave them alone..
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You haven’t seen it because it doesn’t exist. If there was any evidence of taxes going up the Township Supervisors would have stapled it to their letter to the townspeople telling them that their taxes will go up.
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and the cost of sending said letter to 1800 Midway residents would be paid by whom?
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They send out a newsletter a few times a year to all residents. Most of them address the annexation issue. I believe the last one said something about assessments going up if they were part of Proctor and that they wouldn’t be able to shoot a gun in their yard. Elde said he’s got 100 people that want to spend every dime in the bank account. That sounds like a green light to spring for an extra sheet of paper on the newsletter.
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Currently, Midway’s taxes are lower than Proctor’s. (Look it up if you don’t believe me). If Proctor annexes Midway, do you really think their taxes won’t change? They can’t stay the same, because that would require lowering the taxes of about ~3000 residents of Proctor. There’s absolutely no way taxes don’t go out for township residents if this goes through. Common sense.
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Bob’s point was that he’s never seen any evidence to substantiate that taxes would go up. I’m going out on a limb here but I’m guessing an anonymous poster on a blog citing, “common sense” probably doesn’t satisfy that requirement. One could just as easily argue that “common sense” says more people to share in the cost of services results in a lower net share for everybody.
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Please stay on topic. You can disagree with people without name-calling and bickering.
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Ted – Please post any evidence you have that taxes will not go up.
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True journalism would lay the numbers out for me. As I am not effect I only have a curiosity, the effected should actually have to publish not just shoot from the hip. Tom you are correct, the Knight is the shooter.
Simple numbers are what mill rate does each use, special assessments are extras as both are served by same School District.
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Time for a metropolitan council of gov’t (COG) to plan and manage development and growth in the Greater Duluth area. Feuding among local jurisdictions is doing no one any favors, folks. Is Hermantown better off since it incorporated? Most would say, yes. When it was a township, there were landlocked properties, incompatible land uses, uncontrolled urban sprawl up US 53. But following its incorporation, it got a full-time planner and got its act together.
I don’t know what’s going on in Lakewood, Rice Lake and Midway townships but it’s seriously doubtful that they have comprehensive plans in place to deal with residential and commercial growth. It would be a shame to see them annexed but equally, remaining as townships maybe doesn’t lend itself to Duluth spillover.
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If someone has the before and after tax rate before Hermantown’s incorporation it certainly would add to the discussion. If by ‘getting its act together’ means outrageous property tax rates for all to share, then it certainly makes an arguement for the stay the heck out folks.
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Don – there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
I didn’t recommend bloated bureaucracy but you can’t have unqualified local supervisors, who incidentally are, part-time dealing with complex issues and land use management around the fringes of Duluth. You WILL have big problems down the road if you keep the status quo.
I, personally, would not want to see uncontrolled sprawl around Duluth but I DO advocate targeted, planned and well managed commercial and residential development where it is wanted and appropriate.
I’m saying that a CoG would supercede the local govts on planning matters of a metropolitan-wide impact. It would roll the WLSSD, Metro Interstate Commission, etc into an all encompassing body that would decide where development can occur, how far out to extend infrastructure, protect eco-sensitive areas and vistas,,,, stuff like that. It would even out the playing field so that jurisdictions are not competing for ratables.
I think portions of the surrounding townships that abut Duluth should incorporate into “cities” to achieve better management and efficiency in achieving this.
There is no use in pretending that this is going to go away. It’s only going to get worse and then what will we be left with. Joshua Avenue extensions that go on for 40 years?
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Interesting what boredom and curiosity can do.
Searched with my limited information on tax difference between Proctor & Midway. Wow tax people must drink a lot or throw darts. Variations are so differing I think they must do it on purpose to confuse dumb people like me.
Not knowing mil rates used per valuation, some in Midway actually pay more now than some in Proctor. Not saying this would stay true as the base would be spread over a larger number, but as a whole there would more than likely be some increase for Midway unless the corridor along I35 could increase it’s business base.
Of course people could get sucked in like Hermantown and get a Police force of about 50 and then watch the taxes go up.
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Hmm, makes me wonder how Proctor would feel if Duluth decided to use the same tactics and their bigger bank account to annex proctor. LOL!
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I don’t think that can happen, cities don’t annex cities, just townships & villages. Duluth did steal part of Hermantown known as the Air Port now.
Also I think part of Spirit Mountain is in Proctor, Duluth not paying Proctor any taxes on land if I remember correctly.
Midway could always file to become a city like Hermantown and avoid annexation.
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