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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR I
<br />Dear Mayor
<br />Thank you for responding
<br />to my letter originally pub-
<br />lished in the Quad
<br />Community Press. I am glad
<br />we agree on one thing: The
<br />need for sane, well- managed
<br />growth. I do have a few
<br />issues with your response,
<br />however. Even though I
<br />found the tone to be conde-
<br />scending and the logic
<br />flawed, I will address only
<br />two of your arguments, then
<br />pose two very important
<br />questions to you.
<br />You ask just how far back
<br />in time I would recommend
<br />we go in the effort to halt
<br />growth. In your cleverly stat-
<br />ed but logically flawed argu-
<br />ment, you even suggest we go
<br />back to when "old farmers"
<br />inhabited this land. (I think
<br />a few American Indians
<br />might like to weigh in on this
<br />issue.) But here is my
<br />answer I would like to go
<br />back in time to just before
<br />the moment when the need
<br />existed to put a stoplight at
<br />the corner of Birch and
<br />Hodgson.
<br />In your next argument,
<br />you proudly proclaim that
<br />this very same stoplight is
<br />free to the citizens of Lino
<br />Lakes. In fact, the develop-
<br />ments, which caused the
<br />need for the stoplight in the
<br />first place, are paying for
<br />this red- yellow -green symbol
<br />of progress. Mr. Mayor, how
<br />can we be happy about get-
<br />ting something we did not
<br />want, even if it was for free?
<br />This example of circuitous
<br />reasoning tells me you do not
<br />get it. We don't want to be
<br />Woodbury.
<br />Now, on to two very
<br />important questions that are
<br />of major importance to your
<br />citizens. It is time to set
<br />aside the tongue - and -cheek
<br />stuff and get serious.
<br />Lino Lakes has a compre-
<br />hensive plan that regulates
<br />to what extent we wish to
<br />grow. As a safeguard against
<br />thwarting the direction set
<br />down in the comprehensive
<br />plan, it takes a four - fifths
<br />vote of the City Council
<br />(four council members plus
<br />the mayor) to change to the
<br />plan.
<br />What if an ordinance cre-
<br />ate§ a new classification of
<br />development call "conserva-
<br />tion development" that is not
<br />regulated by the comprehen-
<br />sive plan? What is this ordi-
<br />nance contained the lan-
<br />guage, " .. would exempt
<br />conservation development
<br />from growth restrictions,"
<br />thereby allowing "conserva-
<br />tion developments" to be
<br />exempt from the annual allo-
<br />cation limits of 36 acres or
<br />the units restriction of 147
<br />per year?
<br />How will citizens react
<br />when they discover such an
<br />ordinance just passed?
<br />(Ordinance 24 -04 passed on a
<br />3 to 2 vote. Ever notice how
<br />two council members and
<br />the mayor seem to vote as
<br />one ?) What are the residents
<br />of Lino Lakes to make of
<br />this new ordinance, which
<br />contains language that
<br />allows it to circumvent the
<br />comprehensive growth plan?
<br />Question: If you support
<br />sane and controlled growth,
<br />then why is there a need to
<br />set aside (disregard ?) the
<br />original comprehensive plan
<br />by creating a new develop-
<br />ment classification? If mod-
<br />erate growth if the objective,
<br />then why ease any growth
<br />restrictions?
<br />Of course, where you sit
<br />determines how you answer
<br />these two questions. Without
<br />a doubt, a developer might
<br />have a different viewpoint
<br />than that of a resident of
<br />Lino Lakes. What say you,
<br />Mr. Mayor?
<br />Jim Drennen
<br />Lino Lakes
<br />Continue to let your
<br />voice be heard
<br />As the Centennial School
<br />Board is considering options
<br />to cut $1.5 million from the
<br />district's 2005 -06 general
<br />fund budget, three broad sce-
<br />narios being discussed are:
<br />• Making additional cuts
<br />totaling $L5 million
<br />• Making cuts and using
<br />some of the fund balance in
<br />a way that totals $1.5 million
<br />• Making cuts and closing
<br />a school in a way that totals
<br />$L5 million
<br />Following a work session
<br />with district administration
<br />on Dec. 3, a budget reduction
<br />plan will be presented to the
<br />community for comment and
<br />review. The plan will also be
<br />posted on the district Web
<br />site and will include an
<br />opportunity for input. Three
<br />community input sessions
<br />have been scheduled:
<br />• 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9 in
<br />the media center at Rice
<br />Lake Elementary, 575 Birch
<br />St, Lino Lakes
<br />• 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13 in
<br />the staff lounge at Golden
<br />Lake Elementary, 1 School
<br />Rd., Circle Pines
<br />• 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 14 in
<br />the media center at
<br />Centerville Elementary, 1721
<br />Westview, Centerville
<br />To all of you community
<br />members who have a vested
<br />interest in the changes that
<br />will be made to accommo-
<br />date the $1.5 million short-
<br />fall, to those of you with chil-
<br />dren who currently go to
<br />Centennial schools and /or
<br />will be going to Centennial
<br />schools in the future, to
<br />those of you who supported
<br />the levy and to those of you
<br />who did not support the levy
<br />because you are somehow
<br />displeased with the
<br />Centennial district ... As a
<br />community member it is
<br />your responsibility to be
<br />informed of the proposed
<br />changes and provide input
<br />via the Web site or during
<br />one of these sessions. Please
<br />be a part of the solution and
<br />let your voice continue to be
<br />heard.
<br />Becky Benson
<br />Lino Lakes
<br />Re: Lawn signs
<br />We had a lawn sign stolen
<br />from our lawn the night of
<br />Oct. 19. We replaced it the
<br />next day and it was stolen
<br />the night of Oct. 20. We
<br />replaced it again and started
<br />to take the sign down every
<br />night and put it back up
<br />every morning so that it
<br />would not be stolen at night.
<br />It was stolen one last time
<br />the night of Nov 1, just
<br />before the election, and we
<br />did replace it on Election
<br />Day. It was a pro -levy sign.
<br />We didn't blame anyone for
<br />taking it. It is just part of the
<br />games that were going on
<br />prior to the election. We
<br />found it a little humorous.
<br />Connie Wikman
<br />Circle Pines
<br />Taking pride?
<br />Since the election, there
<br />have been a number of let-
<br />ters regarding the defeat of
<br />Centennial school district's
<br />proposed levy. I was a sup-
<br />porter of that levy and I'm
<br />sorry it failed; sorry for the
<br />teachers and sorry for our
<br />community. Most of all, Pm
<br />sorry for our kids. That's life
<br />in a democracy, though, and I
<br />have to accept the results.
<br />Still, too many of the let-
<br />ters are disturbing in a more
<br />fundamental way. Some
<br />claim that the referendum
<br />results somehow prevented
<br />levy supporters from "pick-
<br />ing the pockets" of taxpay-
<br />ers. Education is a public
<br />good in this country. Like
<br />most things, it costs money.
<br />People can disagree over the
<br />amount that should be spent
<br />on it, just as they can have
<br />different opinions about the
<br />appropriate- funding for
<br />police officers or snowplows
<br />or public universities.
<br />If we're going to have
<br />these things, however, we
<br />need to pay for them. That
<br />means collecting taxes.
<br />Those taxes are the result of
<br />a government in which we
<br />can all participate. We might
<br />not always like them, but
<br />they're a fundamental part of
<br />our democracy.
<br />Worse, many of these let-
<br />ters seem to take great joy in
<br />the rejection of the levy. I
<br />can understand someone
<br />who feels pinched by taxes.
<br />Even though I disagree, I can
<br />understand someone who
<br />believes the money can be
<br />better spent elsewhere. What
<br />I cannot understand is why
<br />anyoue wculd be pleased by
<br />the idea that our schools are
<br />struggling.
<br />While the teachers and
<br />administrators in our school
<br />district are dedicated, hard-
<br />working professionals, they
<br />can only do so much. This
<br />vote means that Centennial
<br />students will have fewer
<br />opportunities to be scholars
<br />and athletes and musicians.
<br />The teachers and the coach-
<br />es and the volunteers will do
<br />their best, although it wont
<br />always be enough. There
<br />will be some students who
<br />don't go on to college and
<br />some who just don't graduate
<br />from high school. We have
<br />made a collective decision
<br />that our children will have
<br />less in the future than they
<br />had in the past. I don't think
<br />so, but maybe it was neces-
<br />sary. It shouldn't make us
<br />proud.
<br />Dan Greensweig
<br />Circle Pines
<br />Tuesday, Decembe
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