Dakota County
Tribune
Farmington | Rosemount and the surrounding areas www.dakotacountytribune.com
NEWS DARTS to expand service
March 6, 2014 • Volume 130 • Number 1
Overwhelming silence with music
Farmington residents can call ahead to receive door-to-door service from county transportation provider. Page 7A
Community development director to be hired Position reestablished after eight years; city planner dismissed
OPINION Putting food on the table
by Jennifer Chick SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
People can put more food on the table by maximizing their donations during Minnesota Food Share Month in March. Page 4A
Farmington City Council members have placed economic development as one of the city’s top priorities in the coming years. At Monday night’s regular meeting, the City Council approved the addition of a community development director position to the city staff. This action was taken as part of the city’s consent agenda, a list of items approved with one vote. In a memo about the new position, City Administrator Dave McKnight recommended reestablishing the community development director position due to a staffing change that had occurred. He said later that the staffing change he was referring to was the dismissal of city planner, Lee Smick, who had been with the city since 1997. McKnight said he does not comment on personnel matters and would not give a reason for Smick’s dismissal. Smick was dismissed on Feb. 3 as part of the consent agenda at that night’s City Council meeting. In the past few years, she had also taken on economic development re-
THISWEEKEND
Magic in Burnsville “Theatre of Illusion” comes to the Burnsville Performing Arts Center’s main stage this month. Page 17A
The Rosemount High School wind ensemble performed during the South Suburban Conference Band Festival on Tuesday at Apple Valley High School. The band performed “Silence Overwhelmed” and “Twin Ports Overture” during its session that was followed by a miniclinic with Andrew Mast, professor of music and director of bands at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wis. The band will perform the latter selection with the Rosemount Community Band during a 4 p.m. Sunday, March 9, concert at Rosemount High School. (Photos by Tad Johnson)
See DIRECTOR, 12A
SPORTS
Housing Businesswomen opportunities overcome challenges break down barriers, gender differences are wide open Honorees in the working world, serve as examples to others Demand projected for single-family, workforce and rental units by Jennifer Chick
Rosemount diver is champ Rosemount diver Daniel Monaghan mounted an improbable comeback to win the state championship, while the team placed 19th. Page 10A
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SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
There is plenty of opportunity for housing growth in Farmington, according to a recent study. Mary Bujold, of Maxfield Research, presented the Dakota County Community Development Agency’s Comprehensive Housing Study Findings to Farmington City Council members at their regular meeting Monday night. The original study was conducted in 2005. Since the county has seen much growth in the past eight years, CDA asked that the study be updated to find current and future housing trends. Farmington is considered to be a growth market, with a higher proportion of land available for new development. Projections show that housing growth will continue to be slow until about 2020, due to the recent recession, but that from 2030 to 2040, housing demand will start to ramp up. The updated study set Farmington’s 2020 population project at 25,500 people.
Mayor Todd Larson asked Bujold to reevaluate that population projection. He feels that number is too conservative and could hurt the city as it works to bring commercial development to the city. Bujold agreed to reevaluate the numbers. Projections have the 2030 Farmington population at 30,000. Although growth was slowed in the late 2000s because of the recession, the study found that Farmington is poised to capture a greater share (5 percent) of the county’s household growth between 2010 to 2030. Growth is anticipated to be the greatest among those between the ages of 35 and 64, supporting continued demand for single-family housing and a moderately increasing demand for maintenancefree housing. “Baby boomers and millenials will have the biggest impact on housing demand over the next 20 years,” Bujold said. As is similar to the metro area and Dakota See HOUSING, 12A
by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
The 2014 Exceptional Businesswomen offered insight into the ways in which some have broken barri2014 ers, overcome challenges and helped their endeavors thrive in a difficult economy during a Feb. 25 recognition event at Lost Spur Golf & Event Center. The 10 women were honored during the event that allowed the honorees a chance to participate in a panel
discussion to talk about their experiences. Audrey Aronson Johnson, owner of Lakeville-based Johnson Companies and a longtime human resources director for several companies, said she faced a male-dominated workforce after she was only the third woman to graduate from the University of Minnesota’s master’s program in human resources in the early 1960s. About 90 days into working as the first female manager for the See WOMEN, 6A
Everyone is Irish for a day Rotary fundraiser slated Saturday, March 15 by Tad Johnson SUN THISWEEK DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Those who want to help a child go to summer camp, a student go to college or feed children from around the world can do so by dancing a jig. Rotary of Rosemount will host its largest fundraiser of the year during the third annual Irish for a Day Soiree at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15. That’s when there will be music, dancing and
food at the Rosemount Community Center all for those good causes and more. Billed as a fun and casual affair, the event supports the club’s projects, which include financial support for children at the Rosemount Family Resource Center to attend various camps, workshops, field trips and other educational and leadership activities during the summer months. Funds also help support STRIVE, a mentoring program at the high school, and international programs like polio vaccinations and the packing of
food for those in need. Legacy, a local Celtic band, will provide the music backdrop during the event. The band includes Rosemount residents Patti Drew and Kevin Carroll, who is the former longtime community development director in Farmington, along with St. Paul resident David McKoskey. There will also be a performance by Irish dancers, a raffle, silent auction, cash bar and a traditional Irish meal catered by Rosemount’s Las Tortillas Restaurant. See IRISH, 12A