Ice cool
He’s with the band
Art Shanty Project returns
St. Olaf ensemble coming to town
Page 13
Page 22
CHANHASSEN
THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012
$1
www.chanvillager.com
Villager Educational co-op wallows in debt Cuts and fees may be on horizon BY DAVID SCHUELLER dschueller@swpub.com
PHOTO BY RICHARD CRAWFORD
David Murphy, a bailiff with the Carver County’s Sheriff ’s Office, displays a metal detector wand that is used periodically outside county courtrooms.
Order in the courthouse Security upgrades considered at county government center BY RICHARD CRAWFORD editor@chanvillager.com
In the wake of a courthouse shooting in Cook County, Minn., security at the Carver County Government Center has been more than water-cooler conversation. On Tuesday, Carver County commissioners considered spending $75,000 to make some security enhancements at the Chaska campus as well as examine long-term security needs. The specific building improvements were discussed in a closed meeting allowed by state statutes to protect security. The meeting allowed county commissioners “to receive security briefings and
reports, to discuss emergency response procedures and to discuss security deficiencies in or recommendations regarding public services, infrastructure and facilities at the County’s Government Center and Justice Center,” according to a staff report. The county staff is recommending hiring an architect to develop security proposals and to provide a long-range capital upgrade proposal. Even before the courthouse shooting in Grand Marais last month, building security had been a concern in Carver County, even though there hasn’t been a similar security incident at the Carver County Government Center in recent years. In the county’s long-term financial plan approved in December, building security was identified “as a growing concern that needs to be addressed.”
RANGE OF SECURITY
Dramatic cuts, a building sale and district user fees could be on the horizon for a local educational cooperative that’s running $1 million in the red. The Carver-Scott Educational Cooperative, headquartered in Chaska, includes programs such as alternative learning centers, special education, adult education, technical and career education and family classes. The co-op is in statutory operating debt (SOD), a serious budget situation that could force member districts, including District 112, to make changes or even help pay. “We’re not just in statutory operating debt. We’re hunkered down,” said Executive Director Darren Kermes. The debt, caused by billing errors made during a number of years, came to light in the past couple years, and puts more pressure on executing a planned merger between Carver-Scott and the Minnesota River Valley Special Education Cooperative (MRVSEC), based in Jordan. Kermes, who last year became the top administrator for both cooperatives, said billing mistakes dealing with special education teachers with dual licensure, as well as claiming revenue from a social worker contract shared with District 112, were two main reasons for the debt. “It was a series of reimbursement claims that were not allowable for several years, that were corrected,” Kermes said. Kermes compared the mistakes, which he inherited when he started as executive director, to a knotted string of Christmas lights. The billing in question for special education costs totaled about $2.2 million. And billing for the social worker contract was about $1.6 million, Kermes said. “The problem was Carver-Scott submitted 100 percent of the costs,” he said.
JOIN THE CHAT
IMPACT ON DISTRICTS
ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT SAFETY AT THE CARVER COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER?
www.chanvillager.com security measures range from open courtrooms to full-f ledged weapons screening systems similar to those at airports. In the metro area, Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota counties have relatively advanced security systems. “The shooting in Cook County raised a lot of concerns,” said John Kostourus, a spokesman with the state court information office. “What most people don’t realize, while courts are a state institution, courthouse security is the responsibility of the county government.”
The SOD status was announced Jan. 9, by Jordan School Board Chairwoman Deb Pauly, who represents Jordan on the Carver-Scott board. “It will greatly impact Carver-Scott and our relationship with them,” said Pauly, adding that buildings and staffi ng could also be affected. Currently, the biggest co-op components for local District 112 students are vocational and special education programs, said Superintendent Jim Bauck. Another large co-op program, the area learning center, will soon be rolled into District 112 programming. “As far as immediate impact, I don’t think we’ll see some major changes,” said Bauck, in a phone interview. “We’re looking at the merging of MRVSEC and Carver-Scott for efficiency reasons,” Bauck said. “I think the co-op will come out of this thing in a very strong and very focused shape, but we have a little bit of heartburn to go through with that funding piece and righting the ship with the budget right now.”
Courthouse to page 2 ®
In the 87 counties in Minnesota, court
Cuts to page 2 ®
Highway 5 garden center has new owners, new name BY UNSIE ZUEGE uzuege@swpub.com
When Jay and Peggy Kronick looked for a location for their garden center, they took a map of the Twin Cities and a Yellow Pages telephone directory, and looked up garden centers. They placed a pin on the map for every garden center they found. After they were done, they looked up the demographics for the empty spots on the map. “All arrows pointed to Chanhassen,” Jay Kronick said in a recent phone interview. He spoke on the phone as he and Peggy headed north to their cabin. The Kronicks were living on the East Coast in the 1980s and by 1987, were looking to move to Minnesota to
raise their family. Based on their Yellow Pages research and marketing followup, they chose Chanhassen for their business and Chaska for their home. After 22 years, with their children grown and out of the house, the K ronicks were ready to move on, and spend more time at their Jay cabin up north. After conKronick sidering all their options, they sold their garden business to former employee Laura Wood of Victoria. The Kronicks, of Chaska, opened their garden center in the spring of 1989. They
closed the Lotus on Dec. 31, 2010. Wood has owned and operated her own landscaping company called “By the Woods” for the past 11 years. The business will be renamed “By the Woods Presents The Garden.” But it will be most easily known and referred to as “The Garden,” Wood said. Wood is joined by Paul Farrell, chief of operations and installments, and James Favret, creative director. Currently, the building at 78 West 78th St., Chanhassen, next to Haskell’s liquor store, is undergoing a renovation. In the Garden will open in March. Read more about Laura Wood and In the Garden inside on page 11.
PHOTO BY UNSIE ZUEGE
Jay and Peggy Kronick have sold Lotus Lawn and Garden Center. The new owner is Laura Wood, at left, with Paul Farrelland James Favret.
INSIDE OPINION/4 OBITUARIES/6 SPORTS/7 VICTORIA TOWN SQUARE /11 CALENDAR/14 CLASSIFIEDS/18 TO REACH US SUBSCRIBE: (952) 345-6682 EDITOR: (952) 345-6471 OR E-MAIL EDITOR@CHANVILLAGER.COM.
VOL. 25, ISSUE 16/3 © SOUTHWEST NEWSPAPERS
Chanhassen’s Most Trusted Team
JoeAndCindy.com 147 homes
SOLD in 2011!
Joe and Cindy Welu Team@JoeAndCindy.com
Free Market Analysis • Free Short Sale Consultation
ADVANTAGE PLUS
952-943-1324
Voted #1 in Overall Customer Satisfaction – J.D.Power and Associates