votewojcik.org

I don’t know if there is a way to embed KAAL (ABC 6) stories, but here is a link to their coverage here.  They once again went to the bottom of the barrel and interviewed me.

“Every year, the City of Rochester and Olmsted County send almost $90 million more to the State Treasury in taxes than they receive back in LGA, school aid, and other assistance,” said Governor Dayton.

“The reality is we send so much in income tax and sales tax up to Saint Paul and we get a pittance of that back,” says Rochester city council member, Michael Wojcik, who met with Governor Dayton on Thursday. While he’s happy with the Governor’s praise, he points out Rochester’s state contributions are a double-edged sword; especially, when programs like Local Government Aid are being slashed.

“We don’t have necessarily the means to keep funding the programs that we have and that’s why you see this constant budget struggle at the city and county level,” says Wojcik.

I see that I have been contacted by many members of PETA regarding our crow issue so I thought I would take the time to put my thoughts into a blog post instead of answering everyone individually.

For those of you that are unaware we have a serious infestation issue with an over population of crows in many parts of Rochester including downtown.  This has created an unpleasant nuisance for many businesses and a public health threat at the Mayo Clinic and local restaurants.  We worked with a company called US Bird Abatement and saw very limited success.  We do not have unlimited funds and we can’t rebuild our downtown to address this.  I have no interest in causing unnecessary harm to any living thing.

One thing to remember is that the crows are not coming downtown to eat, rather to roost.  Thus we don’t have garbage issues to deal with.  They are downtown for heat and light, neither of which is easy to remove.

Here are my priorities:

1. Address the very serious public health and commerce threat.  As County Commissioner Stephanie Podulke told me, “If these were rats, they would be dead.”  The fact is that crows are prodigious carriers of west Nile Virus and introduce feces to our environment this must be addressed.
2. Do this in a humane manner if possible.  We have tried many methods with limited success.  There are a number of “great” suggestions out there that haven’t worked at all.

At the end of the day, the crows will be dealt with.

PREVIEW THE NEW PEOPLES FOOD COOP & GERRARD CO. PROJECT

Next general meeting of HSNA (Historic Southwest Neighborhood Association) will take place:

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
7:00PM
Zumbro Lutheran Church, Fireside Room

624 Third Avenue SW, Rochester
Note: Use “south” building entrance. Parking available at Soldiers Field Memorial parking lot.

The project is slated for the corner of 2nd Ave and 6th Street SW Rochester. This presentation will give an overview of the Metropolitan Market Place, Peoples Food Coop, plus the 6th Street SW enhancement.   Rochester City Councilman Michael Wojcik and a representative from the Peoples Food Coop will discuss the new store. A Gerrard Co. developer will describe the entire project. Mr. Wojcik will also speak to aspects of the proposed adjacent road project and how it would integrate with the new building.

Bring your questions about this exciting project.

Jason Mehring has a nice little work of fiction in the Post Bulletin.  Lets check out his accuracy:

Mehring:

The other sad part of the story is us small business people and nonprofits who have to pay for such a lavish waste of money.

The truth:  Businesses are only paying for the replacement of the roadway and sidewalks.  This is required as the current stretch is in need of replacement.  There is nothing lavish about that.
Mehring:

We have been struggling to break even from year to year, and now after an 8.5 percent tax increase on each property, they are assessing our properties another $81,000 to pay for this unnecessary beautification project. This will take years upon years for us to even think about paying off.

The truth:  The assessment is at the same rates as every other business and we are offering payment over 10 years.  Not one penny of the $81,000 is going to unnecessary beautification.

Mehring:

We believe that there is a plan to take our property at below market rates because we will not be able to keep up with all of these extra expenses and we will be forced out by the bank.

The truth:  There is no such conspiracy.

Mehring:

Not only is this a huge financial burden on us, this project also calls for taking part of our lawn, shrubs, our very mature trees, taking out our street parking and cutting down our main access to our property.

The truth:  Not one square inch of this property is being take for this project and the property still has access.  The business raised the concern about the future access, so I tried the access in a Prius in a snowstorm and had absolutely no issue.

Mehring:

When asked for revisions during the many meetings leading up to the decision to go forth, our Council Member Michael Wojcik told us if we do not like it, we can move.

The truth:  Completely fictitious statement that was never said.  This statement is insulting and contradicts the public thanks received from several businesses through the process.

Mehring:

Why then are we the ones to take all the hardship on absurd projects like this one, especially in a poor economic market that we still find ourselves in.

The truth:  The market for rental housing near downtown is on fire, many new projects are getting started.  Rochester is one of the fastest growing areas in the nation.  Maintaining a roadway is not absurd.

Here is the Mayo 5 year plan and update in under 20 minutes.  More to come.

“I hope that my concerns prove unfounded and [Legends Bar] will be a successful well run business.  I want everyone to understand that the city council just approved a liquor license to an individual related to pending felony assault charges and a history of criminal convictions including DWI, leaving the scene of an accident, and driving without insurance.  The approval came despite not satisfying police requests for information.  The police have raised additional questions about contradictory information submitted by the applicant.  I remained concerned by this.”

-Michael Wojcik Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a note from the legendary Gary Nuemann:

Last night I joined Mayo personnel in touring the downtown with the company that has been harassing the crows.  This was the last night that they will be working for a while in Rochester.  Read the rest of this entry »

Here is a memo from Doug Knott discussing the proposed city involvement with the Metropolitan Market Place project.  As I have said before, so long as I am a board member (and finance chair) of the Good Food Store Coop, I will continue to recuse myself from council discussion / votes even though I technically probably don’t need to since I don’t have a financial interest.

Here are some highlights:

• City will sell Minnesota Energy site for $1.
• City will offer $1.45 million in redevelopment TIF.
• The project now includes the entire South end of the 500 block between 1st and 2nd Ave SW.
• The building project is worth $15.3 million.
• The coop space has grown to 27,000 sq. ft.
• There are 62 market rate units planned above ground level.
• I have sent a question as to that the building taxes will be, but it appears there will be a very fast payback for taxpayers.

Here are all the gory details from Doug Knott: Read the rest of this entry »

I have said yes for a number of years, and this email would support the same position.  Many local developers have disagreed.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are two fundamental views of economic development.  First you can try to be as cheap as possible with low standards, low wages, poor benefits, heavy subsidies, and no quality of life.  Many southern states have tried this strategy and have poor education, environment, healthcare, and quality of life.  It is a never ending race to the bottom.

The other way is to try to compete by being the best you can be and being a place where people want to or need to locate.  This is perfect or Rochester because we have unique skills, resources, and businesses.  One of the best ways to do this is a concept called placemaking. Read the rest of this entry »