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Dakota County

Tribune

Farmington | Rosemount www.dakotacountytribune.com

and the surrounding areas Dec. 28, 2017 • Volume 132 • Number 43

NEWS

2017

Year in Review

Stein Air may move Farmington-based Stein Air may move out of town as it looks to find a site that is on or adjacent to an airport. Page 16A

Farmington forges ahead New council member appointed, development plans set and local businesses supported by Jody Peters SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

OPINION Opportunity for everyone The ECM Editorial Board concludes its series looking at the Changing Face of Minnesota. Page 4A

The year 2017 has been one of change for the city of Farmington. Seven months ago, a new City Council member was appointed after the abrupt resignation of Tim Pitcher. Katie Bernhjelm was appointed on April 17 and will serve on the council until Dec. 31, 2018, when Pitcher’s term

would have expired. In addition to a new council member, the city created development plans for Farmington. The Parks and Recreation Commission approved a downtown revitalization project during its May 17 meeting, and earlier this month, the city hosted neighborhood meetings to discuss its vision for the year 2040. Part of that vision includes a thriving economy,

backs. As with any year, Farmington experienced highs and lows. Here’s a look at some of the highlights of 2017. Tim Pitcher Katie Bernhjelm and this year, Farmington did its part to support local businesses, from ones that were just opening to ones that endured set-

Pitcher out

that he had decided to return to the private sector from which he retired in 2013. In his letter, Pitcher wrote, “I have been given the unique opportunity to save and improve lives in the private sector, in which I am moving out of Farmington to perform.� Since resigning, Pitcher, a former medical device

On March 9, former Council Member Tim Pitcher resigned. After an unsuccessful 2016 state Senate run, Pitcher wrote in his resignation letter to the city See FARMINGTON, 2A

2017

Year in Review THISWEEKEND

Rooftops multiply in Rosemount Building boom continued in the past year by Andy Rogers SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Seeing better days ahead Hawaiian monk seals at the Minnesota Zoo will be able to see better after surgery was performed last month. Page 15A

SPORTS

Photo by Tad Johnson

Sports year in review 2017 Rosemount and Farmington high school athletes accomplished many goals during the 2017 seasons. Page 10A

The Rosemount Leprechaun Days Kiddie Parade. Scores of children and their parents assembled in the parking lot of The Well – Rosemount United Methodist Church and paraded down Canada Avenue to Camfield Park. There the Rosemount Lions handed out awards and participants were served free hot dogs, chips, snacks and water provided by Cub Foods during its Cub in the Park with Friends event.

Rosemount welcomed many new neighbors in 2017 as residential development continued to expand after a nearly 10year lull. Residential development activity dropped off due to the Great Recession, but now that it has picked back up, people are moving in. Growth is expected to continue and outpace many of the surrounding cities due to the availability of land within city limits. With acres and acres of undeveloped land, particularly in eastern Rosemount and within UMore Park, the future of Rosemount is wide open. City planners continue their work to update Rosemount’s Comprehensive Plan, which lays out the city’s best estimates and desires for new development in the next two decades. The latest work covers how land use may change, guidelines for development of downtown Rosemount, and projections

for new park facilities. The Greystone housing development is in the midst of its fourth phase in eastern Rosemount. CalAtlantic Homes received preliminary approval to develop an additional 169 lots to the east this year. Rosewood Crossing began development on a 225-unit apartment complex in 2017. Copper Creek development received approval for 87 single family lots west of Highway 3 and south of 132nd Street. The Glenrose development, with 28 quad homes and 20 rowhomes near downtown is nearing completion. There’s also the Wilde Lake Estates 14-lot subdivision in northern Rosemount. There are still 179 townhome units remaining to be built in the Harmony single-family development. Prestwick Place, a single-family home development north of Connemara Trail and west of Akron Avenue, is under development for an additional 150 lots. St. Croix Home Build-

ers is constructing an 11unit townhome development near downtown. And there’s plenty of room to grow. Only about one third of the available land within city limits has been developed.

Recreation Youth sports teams have had an issue in Rosemount for years in finding enough space to play. Hope Fieldhouse, a local organization of youth sports advocates, formally announced a capital campaign in late 2017 in an effort to build a new recreation center. Organizers hope to raise funds for a 42,000-squarefoot facility with indoor court space for youth and adaptive athletics adjacent to Community of Hope Church on the corner of Biscayne Avenue and 145th Street. If all goes as planned, it could open in 2018. In other action, the Rosemount City Council approved a contract for engineering and landscaping services to provide See ROSEMOUNT, 7A

2017

Year in Review

County on the road to better roads The breakup of a regional transit board means more revenue for Dakota County projects

PUBLIC NOTICE The Dakota County Tribune is an official newspaper of the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District.

INDEX Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . 4A Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . 10A Classifieds . . . . . . . . . 11A Announcements . . . . 14A Calendars . . . . . . . . . 14A

News 952-846-2033 Display Advertising 952-846-2019 Classified Advertising 952-392-6862 Delivery 763-712-3544

by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE

Transportation is often cited as the most important concern of Dakota County residents as past surveys have shown that the majority of working adults travel north and cross the Minnesota River each day to go to work. County government leaders think that 2017 will be looked back upon as a year in which there was a seismic change in addressing the county’s transportation needs. In March 2017, the Counties Transit Improvement Board dissolved after Dakota County protested that it was not getting its fair share of return on investment in projects to serve its residents. The result is that the county will no longer be

funnelling millions into CTIB and instead the county has implemented the Dakota County Transit Sales Tax, which will generate an expected $16.6 million in 2018 for local transportation projects. On Oct. 1, the county started diverting a current quarter-percent sales tax and $20 excise tax on new vehicle sales from CTIB to the county’s revenue stream. County Administrator Matt Smith said the county got beat up pretty good over its insistence that CTIB dissolve and pay out what each entity had already invested into the transit pot. Dakota County received $21.3 million when the group broke up — $5.3 million more than it was originally offered. Commissioner Mary

Liz Holberg, who represents the Lakeville area, said an important aspect of the deal is that the Metropolitan Council will pay for the $1 million in annual operating costs for the bus rapid transit Red Line from Apple Valley to the Mall of America. Smith says the dissolution of CTIB does not mean the end of transit projects that serve suburban residents, including those potential customers of the bus rapid transit Orange Line that would connect Burnsville to Minneapolis. He said transit projects and their funding formula based such criteria and Photo submitted mileage and ridership will The Metropolitan Council and Metro Transit celebrated be determined on a case- in May the opening of the new Cedar Grove Transit Staby-case basis. tion, which allows the bus rapid transit Red Line to stay on Highway 77 and shaves about 5 minutes off a trip from See COUNTY, 8A Apple Valley to the Mall of America in Bloomington.

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