| MPR/public discuss Baldwin |
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By Chris Schafer Minnesota Public Radio News editor Kate Smith began the conversation with a question. Standing on the stage in the performing arts center at Princeton High School, Smith asked the crowd of about 150 to raise their hand if they said in or near Princeton when asked where they live. Roughly a third of the hands went up. Smith asked the same question again with another answer option. “How many of you say you live in Zimmerman,” she asked. Once again, a third of the hands went up. Finally she asked how many people respond that they live in Baldwin Township. Only three or four hands went into the air. The multiple choice question highlighted the ambiguities that still exist in trying to define exactly what Baldwin Township is now and what it will be in the future. “We’re here in Princeton talking about the future of Baldwin Township,” Smith said. Video and audio presentations by the MPR team all told the same story. That of a rural community that has grown exponentially over the last 20 years and now is left with the costs of that growth threatening the rural way of life its residents hold dear. Baldwin resident Jess Hall was on the town board for nearly three decades. He remembers running across the street to round up a local couple so they would have a quorum at the annual meeting, long before the township swelled to its position now as the third largest township in Minnesota. And with the growth has come cost. The township has 80 miles of roads — not counting county or state highways. And of those 80 miles, more than 13 miles are in need of serious repair. The most complained about, 136th Street, would cost $2 million to repair. That figure is four times the township’s current road and bridge budget. But township residents told the MPR team during interviews and commented at the meeting that they didn’t want to see their taxes increase. Private consultant and planner Chuck Marohn, one of a panel seated before the crowd, said the township needs to continue to work towards a long-term plan. “You can’t have the best of both worlds,” he said commenting on the township’s desire to have services but keep taxes low. Township board chair Jeff Holm, a lifelong resident of Baldwin, said watching the township’s growth during his formative years has been like paradise lost for him. So Holm decided to do something about it, joining the board to get involved. Holm said he is concerned about the township’s future problems with infrastructure because so many roads were built at the same time and will all age out at the same time. He said the township also has other issues including annexation or incorporation. “We need to get more people involved before we make decisions,” Holm said. Baldwin resident Dave Patten, who is on the township’s parks committee said he would like to see more parks in the township as well as places where he could go on a bike ride with his kids. Patten also cautioned citizens to read their tax statement so that they see the township portion of their taxes has stayed the same or sometimes even dropped while county and state taxes rise. But resident Elaine Philippi argued that ultimately residents must look at the bottom line when looking at their taxes, regardless of where that money is ultimately going. Philippi said several residents are worried about being driven out of their homes. Minnesota Association of Townships attorney Eric Hedtke, also on the panel, stated that if the township is going to look at incorporation, a long-term plan is necessary. “You’re not going to incorporate next year,” he said, adding that the township should lay out a plan for the next 10, 15 and 20 years. “You must have services in place before you ask for incorporation,” Hedtke said. But then Hedtke cautioned, if the township is going to incorporate, Princeton could come and take what it wants from Baldwin. “It just seems like if Princeton wants us, they’re just going to take us,” one woman in the audience said. To which Hedtke simply replied, “Yep.” He went on to mention one case of a township successfully battling a city for its right to keep its land and winning but the fight cost the township $150,000. The city expended $250,000 on the legal battle. Another citizen, commenting from the back of the room said it was time to let bygones be bygones between Baldwin and Princeton. “It doesn’t do us any good to build a wall around Baldwin and stick our head in the sand,” he said. While the township looks towards its future and what it will do, the Baldwin board will do so with the benefit of a $10,000 grant from the Initiative Foundation’s Healthy Communities Partnership program. The grant can be spent towards a variety of community organizing and planning costs. The township can ask for such a grant each year for the next five years but there must be a local match before any subsequent grants can be awarded. Comments (0)
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