203 NEW HOUSING UNITS IN LAKETOWN
AND AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FOR VICTORIA
Council voted 5-0 on September 23rd to approve the final plat of a new subdivi-sion for 203 new housing units on 200 acres in a former part of Laketown Town-ship near the new Victoria Elementary School currently under construction. 
Several hundred other acres of the township are waiting in the wings for anticipated annexation and development.  But this 200-acre final plat is the acreage that brought the public elementary school to Victoria.
This residential development by Lundgren Brothers will be called Lake-town.  The property lies south of Deer run, west of County Road 11, east of Lake Wasserman -- in effect, surrounding the new school.
With a split vote of 2-2 from the Vic-toria Planning Commission, there was essentially no recommendation from them in regard to final plat approval.  Prelimin-ary plat approval was given in March, 2004.  Annexation has occurred; grading began almost immediately.
According to City Planner Mark Kaltsas, the development will include a total of 57 single family homes, 52 twin-home units, 36 four-plex units in nine buildings, 58 row-house units, and 26 single family future homes.  It all adds up to 203 units.
Mark said there will be a trail along County Road 11, a sidewalk on both sides of the street in the multi-family area, a sidewalk on one side of the street in the single family area, and a Carriage Street connection to the Wedgemere cul de sac at Deer Run.
Kirk Rosenberger of the Victoria Planning Commission, attending this September 23rd city council meeting, listed several reasons for voting against the Laketown plat.   "We're still trying to get our arms around the whole thing," he said.  "I don't think we have a staging or implementation plan and no thorough discussion of the Master Plan.  The preliminary plat was approved without proper recommendation.  The final plat is not in compliance with the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance because of roads.  We already have inadequate trans-portation."
Councilmember Terry Bishop took issue with those comments.  "We have met the Adequate Public Facilities Ordin-ance!" he said.  "You remember there was a confluence of events to get the elemen-tary school.  The final plat is consistent with the preliminary plat.  There's been a give and take by everybody.  I think we can live with this.  The project is moving along swiftly.  Progress is being made.  People can disagree with us as to the con-cessions we've made.  I think we are con-strained to approve this."
David Hennen of Lundgren Brothers spoke at this time, introducing himself as one of the applicants for the subdivision.  He indicated the approximate start prices would be $190,000 for the lodge homes, $240,000 for the row homes, and $250 for the twin homes.
"We got the proper permits to connect with the county roads," he said.  "About crosswalks at the school, these streets are two lanes wide at 30 to 35 miles per hour, not four lanes at 55 mph, but I have the same concerns for the safety of children.  We hope every day our children get to and from school safely."
The recommendation to approve the Laketown subdivision, arriving in two phases and subject to "calming traffic in some way at the trail connection," passed unanimously.  Then Marc Anderson, Executive Vice President and Project Manager for Lundgren Brothers, got up to speak at the podium.
"There is a school rising up out of the ground on land the district doesn't even own, out in the middle of a cornfield," he said.  "With this plat we are giving this land to the school and building roads to provide access and utilities to provide ser-vices.  We've accomplished in one year what it should have taken two years.  But we hung together in it, and you've got your school.  I want to thank the council and staff.  I think we're creating some-thing very lasting in this community.  It has been grueling."
Although Councilmember Mary Thun voted for approval she stated, "This goes against my belief.  I want to know how everybody is getting all these cars to feed-er roads.  Unless I see how traffic is going to get out of here, I will not vote or agree to this again.  Traffic is a big issue.  People have been contacting me.  We have to expect our developers to address that issue."
In summary, Lundgren Brothers gave the school site to School District #112 because the District preferred it to the Michel site it already owned in Victoria.  The Victoria Elementary School is ex-pected to open in the Fall of 2005.  Lund-gren Brothers and the City of Victoria put everything, including annexation, on a fast track after the successful school referendum in the fall of 2003 to get it all accomplished.

MORE PULLTABS IN VICTORIA
IF IT WILL BE PROFITABLE FOR CHARITY

On behalf of the Victoria Lions, Jerry Schmieg asked councilmembers for a permit to conduct charitable gambling through the sale of pulltabs at Floyd's Bar in Victoria.  After some discussion, the motion to grant the license failed 2-3 because councilmembers wanted to see an analysis of potential earnings and profit and more information in general.
Jerry Schmieg had stated the opera-tion would be run similar to the charitable gambling currently at Schmitty's Tavern in Victoria, which is a bar operation not a booth operation.  It would also be run through the Chaska Lions and Rick Nolan, the gambling manager from the Chaska Lions.  "We found no one else in our club to do it," he said.
Jerry Schmieg forecast "maybe $14,000 to $18,000" in profit per year that could be used for charitable purposes in the City of Victoria.
Stated Mayor Jerry Bohn, "We've had gambling at Schmitty's for three years and I think we've only received $10,000 in that whole time."  City Administrator Steve Sarvi clarified that the total amount from Schmitty's so far, under the Chaska Lions banner, was $12,850.
Continued Mayor Bohn, "I don't see the motivation for another gambling per-mit.  I'd like to have someone explain why Schmitty's does so poorly and this one at Floyd's is going to do so much better.  Do you think there is more gamb-ling money in the city?  I'm not against another gambling operation, but I'd like to know why the other one isn't so profitable and this one will be."
Agreed Councilmember Mary Thun, "I don't object to this, but I'd like to know why I'd want to go along with this.  I'd like to give a reason why to someone who'd ask."
Stated Councilmember and Victoria Lion Dave Lindgren, "I think the Schmit-ty's crowd and Floyd's are two different clientel.  I want to see it get done as fast as possible."  His motion in favor of pull-tabs at Floyd's received support from Councilmember Richard Tieden, but not from Mayor Bohn, Mary Thun, and Terry Bishop.
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