New Seasons Bring Change

October 11, 2013 

 

The air is warm and the weather has been calm and sunny; however, the leaves are falling and fall is defiantly in the air. As we eagerly await the change of the new season, the holiday celebrations and fall harvest the legislature is also seeing a change in season. We are transitioning from the political season of policy and issue to bonding and investment. Every two years the State Legislature drafts a new bonding bill that will allow the state to function for the next two years. The Capital Investment committee was in Rochester on October 8^th and the City of Kasson and Mantorville presented a project of combined interest that will help both cities with our current Waste Water Treatment updates. If the project does get included in the bonding bill this year, the financial impact on the citizens of Mantorville for our treatment plant will be greatly reduced. Mayor Tjosaas and myself presented our plans and request to the committee. I am very happy and proud of our council; EVERY single member of the City Council showed up for this meeting and supported our request. Please feel free to reach out to our State Representative and State Senators and ask them to support our community and project.

Continuing on the theme of change the City, as you may remember, recently hired a new public works employee Andrew Fischer. Andrew has been doing a great job and is learning about our city. Our two public works employees are doing a great job getting ready for the new season as well making sure our snow removal equipment is ready and everyone is up to speed on the status and operation of the equipment we have.

The City also has another employee that has been really working hard for the citizens of Mantorville. Our City Clerk Cami Reber has been taking on a extra duties to cover for the loss of a part time clerk a few years back due to budget cuts. When you come into the office to pay your bills or apply for a building permit please take a second to thank her for her commitment.

This fall your council has been busy planning several new projects for next Spring. We are examining the long awaited 7^th street project, installing the new Waste Water line to Kasson and buying a “newer” refurbished rescue vehicle for the Fire Department. Even with these project s underway, the council is still hopeful of maintaining a final tax levy of -1% for 2014. This lower level of taxation will help our residents recover from the latest recession.

Two of my most recent public speeches that affect the city have been uploaded to my blog at MayorBradford@BlogSpot.com for those that would care to read them. They are my remarks at the school closing ceremony and at the Capital Investment Committee meeting.

Along with our season fall celebrations comes the anticipation of precipitation that is of solid form rather than liquid. I know my fellow skiers and snowmobilers are eagerly looking forward to our first snow fall. Remember snow is part of life in Minnesota, if you find a way to enjoy it you will spend more of your life happy. So I hope all of you will join me on the slopes or on the trails. Happy Minne-SNOW-tah everyone!

Yours in service

Chuck Bradford, Mayor - City of Mantorville
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Bonding Committee WWTP Remarks

I wanted to thank the bonding committee for your time and consideration today. My Name is Chuck Bradford and I am the Mayor of Mantorville. Joining me today is Tim Tjosaas the Mayor of Kasson as well as representatives from both councils. In front of you there is a small sample of what life in Mantorville tastes like, I hope you enjoy it.

In the past there were efforts to join school systems, Kasson and Mantorville were able to identify an opportunity and combine the two communities educational offering. Today we share a very strong and successful combined school system. Now the two communities are exploring a new area of cooperation, one we feel could work in your districts as well. This new effort combining waste water treatment facilities will

• Lower environmental impact
• Leverage economies of scale
• And provide less financial impact on our citizens.

Your communities would likely be able to see similar results.

The History:

Mayor Tjosaas will go over some of the needs in Kasson, I will focus on Mantorville. Both cites have current update needs. Mantorville’s plant is currently past its design life expectancy. While the PCA has been willing to work with Mantorville on some of our current non-compliance issues, it would be a challenge to meet the new foreseeable regulations at our current location. Our current location’s border is constrained by the surrounding properties and is also in the flood fringe. We are already having issues with bio-solid storage and we have to land apply in increasing frequency.

Mantorville is expecting accelerated growth as part of the positive impact from the DMC effort in Rochester. This accelerated growth will mandate service expansions outside the rate of which we have traditionally planned for.

The communities of Kasson and Mantorville feel that since this is a pilot project for a new area of cooperation, since the two communities are anticipating an accelerated growth rate as part of DMC and due to new state and federal mandates this project is a good candidate for inclusion in this cycles bonding bill. We hope you agree and will include our proposal in the next bonding bill.

Thank you again for your time and consideration, I would like to ask Mayor Tjosaas to now say a few words

Celebrating the Past and Looking Forward

September 14, 2013

 
My remarks during the closing ceremony for the 1921 portion of the old school building that will soon become the property of Dodge County:

 

Reviewing the documents in the Time Capsule

Thank you Jane.

I would like to thank our County Board of Commissioners for working with the city and understanding our needs and concerns.

Welcome everyone!  From time to time we reach a point in history where it is appropriate to pause , reflect and to celebrate.  Today is such a day. 

The building behind us has meant a great deal to the people of Mantorville and Dodge County.  It provided the foundation upon which our citizens built both their educational and professional careers.   Unfortunately, change is often necessary especially when not doing so would be detrimental to our quality of life.  

The good news is, we are not losing the entire structure, only a portion of the building. We are not losing county services, not losing the oldest working court house in the state and we are not losing a valued partner in our community.  This is cause for celebration!

Today we commemorate the win/win solution which the County and City were able to find meeting a critical need.  I would ask you to join me in celebrating the past and looking to the future as we welcome the new life, which will soon be seen in the rest of the building.

Please enjoy some of the materials that our Historical Society has on display today, tour the old building once more and share your stories about our school with one another.

Thank you again for coming out and joining us today.

Jane...

The 48th Marigold Day celebration was a success

This past weekend we enjoyed the 48th annual marigold days celebration. I would like to thank the MRA and all of our great volunteers for a well run event. Through out the weekend I heard so many positive comments and everyone looked like they really enjoyed themselves.

During the weekend, I talked to a few vendors that indicated they might like to start a business in Mantorville and I will be working with our EDA to follow up on those opportunities. Events like this past weekend are just one of the reasons Mantorville has the charm that attracts both businesses and residents to our community.

During the weekend a new Mantorville court was crowned. Congratulations to Mss. Soland and all of her court, well done ladies. I would also like to congratulate our 2013 GEM Mr. Sell, "Grumpy" has done so much for our community that it just made sense to recognize his efforts at this time.

This next weekend we will be holding a celebration to mark the transition of the old school from its current use to its future use. During this celebration the corner stone will be opened and the contents will be donated to the historical society. There will be opportunities for people to take a tour of the school and there will be a display of some items by the historical society.

Thank you again to everyone that made this past weekend such a success and also thank you to everyone that choose to spend the weekend with us.

Yours in service.

Chuck Bradford
MantorvilleMayor.BlogSpot.Com

What does a council member do?

Mantorville's city Council is composed of 4 city council members and a Mayor. The Mayor is a "weak" Mayor in the sense that the office does not have veto authority. Shown in the picture below from left to right are Council member Swanson, Council Member Ballard, Mayor Bradford, Council member Blair and Council member Maxson. Administering the oath is Mantorville's city Clerk/Administrator Mss. Reber.

Committee Assignments: There are about 15 sub committees that are a part of the advisory board to the City Council. Most committees have two council members on them and the typical council member will have about 7 assignments. Most of the Committees meet on regular monthly basis and a typical meeting last from 45 mins to 3 hours depending on topics. Committees are setup to focus on one aspect of the city. The city has an EDA, Park Bord, MRA, Personnel and other areas.

Compensation:
Each council member for Mantorville receives $1800 a year and the Mayor gets $2000. This is paid by a single check at the end of the year.

Term:
The four council members serve a four year term with two of the terms staggered so that only two seats are up for an election at any given election year. The Mayor serves in a two year term.

Special Elections & Appointments:
If a council member resigns before the end of their term, then the council will solicit  names of interested persons to be "appointed" to a council seat until the next available election. At the next available election the appointed member must run for the seat. This is why in 2012 we had 3 council members running and a Mayoral race. After the special election, the term returns to it's prior schedule so that two seats are up for re-election in any given election year. 

Current Assignments:

---

Mayor - Chuck Bradford  

Deputy Mayor – Henry Blair 
Chamber of Commerce  -  Jim Maxson, Henry Blair

            Meets first Thursday of the Month/Hubbell House 
EDA –  Don Swanson, Chuck Bradford

           Meets First Tuesday of the month in Council Chambers  
Finance/Budget – Chuck Bradford, Barb Ballard 

Fire Dept. Representatives – Jim Maxson, Don Swanson

            Meets the 1^st Wednesday of the Month in Fire Hall  
Infrastructure - Jim Maxson, Henry Blair  

KM Park & Rec. Joint Powers Board – Chuck Bradford and Adam Hovden 

MRA – Barb Ballard, Don Swanson

            Meets Second Tuesday of the Month at the Opera House 
Park Board– Henry Blair, Barb Ballard

            Meets Last Tuesday of the Month in the Council Chambers 
Personnel – Chuck Bradford, Henry Blair 
Relief Association Trustees Meeting – Barb Ballard, Cami Reber

            Meets once per quarter in the Fire Hall or Chamber 
Township Reps – Meets once per month as noted below – Chuck Bradford and Cami

·       Mantorville meets the first Monday of each month @ 7:30 pm Mantorville Town Hall
·       Wasioja meets Second Monday of each month (December – March) 1:00 pm
                                                                                   (April – November)   7:00 pm Wasioja Town Hall
·       Milton meets the first Tuesday of each month @ 7:30 PM Milton Town Hall 
Council of Governments – Chuck Bradford

Meets the first Thursday of every quarter @ 7 am at the County Seat Coffeehouse 
Dam Committee – Jim Maxson, Don Swanson 

Planning Committee – Henry Blair, Barb Ballard 

Sewer Committee – Jim Maxson, Chuck Bradford

Celebrating the Past and Looking Forward

August 30, 2013

The summer has gone by so fast. Our children are going back to school, the days are getting sorter and many of us are making our fall plans. Before we leave the summer of 2013 behind, we have a few more things to do. This following weekend we will hold our annual Marigold Days celebration with numerous outstanding events scheduled throughout the weekend including a parade on Sunday and the crowing of the Mantorville court on Saturday. For a complete list of events and a schedule go to this URL: marigolddays.com/schedule.htm. I hope everyone is able to attend these great events with your families and friends. See you all out next weekend.

As I mentioned in a previous article, a portion of the old school building is going to be dismantled, while retaining the other portions of the building for re-use. The 1921 original section of the school does not meet the needs of the County and will come down later next month. There has been a celebration scheduled to pay tribute to the contributions the school has made and the new contributions the remaining building will continue to make to the community and county. The celebration will include an examination of the building’s corner stone and opening of any “time capsule” that may be inside. The mystery as to weather or not there is a time capsule is intriguing. Everyone is invited to attend this celebration, which will be held on September 14th from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. The ceremony to open the time capsule will be held at 5:00 pm. The contents of any capsule found will be donated to the Dodge County Historical Society. Attendees can take a tour of the school and there will be a fundraiser to benefit the Dodge County Historical Society. There will be drinks and refreshments available from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. One of our honorable Senators, Dave Senjem will be in attendance.

The Mantorville EDA, in cooperation with the Mantorville Restoration Association and the Mantorville Theatre Company, is installing wireless Internet service into the Opera House. Internet access is for the benefit of the MTC and MRA groups but also makes the Opera House more desirable as a meeting place for organizations and individuals. Most folks don’t know this but the facility is also available for rent if you looking for a charming and historical place for an event or meeting. If you would like more information, contact Jane Olive at JaneOlive@KMtel.com.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford,

A Busy Summer

This summer has been a busy one for the City and the City Council. Mantorville has hosted some great celebrations this summer and we were fortunate to have had good weather for most of our events. As the summer winds down, we are currently looking for volunteers to help with “Fall Fest”, those interested can contact City Hall, The EDA or myself.
The tourism sub-committee of the EDA has been active in promoting our citywide celebrations as well as planning for the future. One of the services that the tourism committee offers is the walking tour of Mantorville. The free brochures can be found in most local businesses. The brochure has a map of landmarks with historical interest and a small description about the property. The landmarks themselves are marked with a painted “stage coach” on the sidewalk in front of the property. The tourism committee needed a dedicated resource to help augment the volunteers efforts promoting tourism in Mantorville, with the help of title 5 funding the Tourism committee has been able to hire a resource that will help with promoting tourism in Mantorville and keeping our online content fresh.
The EDA is already working with some local businesses to help them expand and start their operations in the City of Mantorville. The EDA has a revolving loan fund, which was partially funded with a grant from the USDA. The businesses that these low interest loans benefit will contribute to the tax base within the City as well as provide our citizens more local options for their shopping enjoyment. The EDA currently has more capacity with this fund and current or future Mantorville businesses that would like to be considered are encouraged to apply.
The EDA is also currently seeking nominations for this year’s “GEMs of Mantorville”. If you would like to submit a name for consideration please send us the name of the individual you are nominating, the name of the person making the nomination and a brief description of why you feel they have “Gone above and beyond” for the city. Applications are due at City Hall by August 6th at 4:00pm. The award will be presented at the “Marigold Days” celebration.
The City Council was presented with an update by our engineering staff as to the progress of the Waste Water Treatment project. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) is currently reviewing both cities plans and our engineer has indicated that so far everything is on-track. The next step is to select and secure a route for our line to Kasson.
The City of Mantorville is interviewing candidates for our maintenance staff position. In the interim, we have hired a person on a temporary basis to help with summer related activities. The interviewing committee will conduct the first rounds of interviews and make a recommendation to the full council. The full city council will have to make the final decision.

The City Council conducted a public input session concerning the Mantorville dog park. The City Council wanted to gauge what understanding both sides had from former discussions regarding the park’s future and the City’s involvement. The Dog Park committee would like the City to “match” Kasson’s’ $5000 donation using a portion of the Rochester Sales Tax Money that was given to the City of Mantorville. The City had previously said that Mantorville Tax dollars would not be used to build the park; however, at the time no one foresaw Rochester Sales Tax money being an option. The City Council did not make any commitments at the last meeting; however, the Council did agree to spend more time looking into the options.

The next City Council meeting will be on August 12th and the next EDA meeting will be on August 6th both meetings begin at 6:30pm in the Mantorville City Council chamber. The city Council will hold it’s retreat on August 22nd the Council will need to make some preliminary decisions on our budget for next year and we will be reviewing our sub-committees request for funding for next year at the retreat.

I want to thank the Kasson-Mantorville Lions club for donating time and effort to apply a new fresh coat of paint on our main pavilion and bathroom in Riverside park. The buildings look great! Thanks again!

Yours in service

Chuck Bradford, Mayor - City of Mantorville

Moving Forward

 May 6, 2013

April was a busy month for the Mantorville city council. The council meet four times in the month of April to go over financial planning, updating some ordinance, hold a local board of appeals session and to select an option for our wastewater treatment plant.

The city of Mantorville has a financial rating of “AA-“ which is good news for our citizens because this will allow us to bond at a lower rate for projects. A lower bond rate means that any project the city bonds for will have a lower cost per citizen and will continue to help the city reduce the tax burden on our citizens.

After some long meetings reviewing the agreement for the option to Kasson, reviewing the cost of the various options and an on-site tour of the Kasson facility, the city council decided on a five to zero vote to partner with Kasson for the cities wastewater treatment. Some of the considerations that determined the council’s decision were:

1)    Mantorville has a space limitation for “expansion” at our current site.
2)     Legal agreement provides ample protection for both communities.
3)    On going cost for plant operation is lower for a “shared” plant.
4)    Potential lower environmental impact.
5)    The cost difference of one million dollars.

Now that an option has been selected the city has a good understanding of what the financial implications for our wastewater treat will be in the coming years and we can move forward with other projects.

The Mantorville EDA will be holding a public meeting to solicit input from citizens on what the city should look at for projects to be funded with the “sales tax” revenue coming from the City of Rochester. The city of Kasson choose to donate their money to the “Destination Medical Center” project which the State Legislature, the City of Rochester and Mayo clinic are working on. The Mantorville EDA has already been presented with some options for consideration and we would like additional input from our citizens. This money can only be used for “Economic Development” activities and the state has a exact definition of this terms which the City of Mantorville will have to comply with. The public input session will be held on May 7th at 7:30pm in the Mantorville city council chamber. Anyone wishing to share their opinion on the subject will be given the opportunity to address the commission. The EDA will consider all the options, conduct any needed additional research and eventually make a recommendation back to the city council. The city council will then make a final determination on which projects best serve the community and make plans for the project execution.

 Please visit my blog at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com for updates this month, I will be adding some additional articles on my blog answer some common questions I look forward to reading your comments on any of my articles.

 Feel free to contact me at my email address of MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.com or add a comment to my blog at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com I look forward to hearing your ideas and comments.

Yours in service,

 Chuck Bradford
Mayor, City of Mantorville

Summer Events

Summer is finally in full swing in Mantorville and we will again host some great events. Old Tyme days last weekend was a great success again this year. This year the entire weekend was packed with events including a kids tractor pull, an antique tractor pull, wine tasting, living history demonstrations, horse draw wagon rides, a melodrama, a costume contest, Art show and live music and much much more. Both days we enjoyed nice sunny weather and everyone was having a good time. KTTC did an excellent job with an "on the road" television segment that is posted on their web site.

The Kasson-Mantorville student athletes had an amazing season with baseball, softball and wrestling— going all the way to the final playoff contests. In recognition of their historic achievement as well as recognizing the commitment of our coaching staff and parents, I presented a proclamation declaring Monday, July 1, 2013 as “Kasson-Mantorville All Student Athletes Day”. Congratulations teams! I have posted the proclamation on my blog.

Our next event will be the annual Ride or a Reason on July 13. This will be the tenth and last "Ride for a Reason Remembrance". Then, the next week July 17^th, the Dodge County Fair will start in Kasson. In August, we will have a City sponsored "National Night Out on the 6th. In September, we will have our annual Marigold Days celebration (7th & 8th) as well as the annual Rendezvous (29th). We wind down in October with the Fall Festival (26th) and finally an Old Fashioned Christmas on December 7th. More information about these and other events can be found on the City web page (http://www.mantorville.com/) and my blog (http://mayorbradford.blogspot.com).

The Park Board is in the process of replacing some trees in Riverside park. The Park Board and the City decided to be preemptive on the emerald ash bore problem that is slowly working across our state. The Park Board felt that it was better to replace our ash trees in the park over several years instead of waiting for all of the trees to become infested with the ash bore and cut all the trees down at once.

The EDA is working with some local businesses to help them expand and start their operations in the City of Mantorville. The EDA has a revolving loan fund which was partially funded with a grant from the USDA. These businesses that these low interest loans benefit will contribute to the tax base within the City as well as provide our citizens more local options for their shopping enjoyment.

The Rochester City Council met to discuss the sales tax disbursement to the surrounding cities and they voted to confirm their commitment to share some of the tax money up front with the surrounding communities. The City Council is still looking at and considering options for those funds. We will share updates as we progress.

The City of Mantorville is starting the process of interviewing candidates for our maintenance staff needs. Information and specific job responsibilities will be posted within the next few days. Interested candidates are encouraged to contact City Hall and fill out an application.

Yours in service

Chuck Bradford, Mayor - City of Mantorville
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Proclamation for KM Athletes

I presented a proclamation this weekend for our students athletes. I wanted to post my comments from this weekend as well as the proclamation on my blog for those that didn't get a chance to be present.

Thank you for coming out today. My name is Chuck Bradford, the Mayor of Mantorville and as mayor I have many responsibilities and opportunities. Of these, one that I really enjoy is the opportunity to recognize important events within our community via proclamations.

I have therefore signed a proclamation today that I would like to read to you:

 I would like to thank the coaching staff of our school system, congratulate all of our student athletes and recognize all of our student’s parents for their support and encouragement of our students this past year.

Congratulations everyone!  Keep up the Amazing work.
Click here for a high resolution version 

Communication is the key

The Mantorville City council will be holding the first public hearing on the new waste water treatment plant options. This meeting will start at 6:30pm on March 25 at the Fire Station. The final option that the city chooses will affect the residents sewer and local tax rates so residents are strongly encouraged to attend the public hearing and let the council know your thoughts and concerns.

Mantorville citizens are also encouraged to provide feed back to the council on some of the other issues that are up for consideration. The council is considering allowing chickens in town given some constraints, loosening up some of the restrictions on number of dogs a home can have and project ideas for the use of the Rochester sales tax. Citizens can provide feedback via the mayors blog located at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com

The city was given some preliminary numbers on what each of the 17 cities can expect as a share of the sales tax; however, the state legislature is in the process of considering legislation that could potentially change the portion that the city gets. The new legislation could change the amount that Mantorville receives and it could go up or down but more than likely Mantorville will still receive some of these funds. The EDA is currently compiling a list of ideas that we could spend these funds on keeping in mind that the funds have to be spent on economic development. We strongly encourage citizens to submit their ideas for  consideration. Ideas can be sent to my email address of MantorvilleMayor@gmail.com or added as a comment on my blog at  MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com

I would like to include a few reminders. Street lights, if citizens see a burned out or blinking street light please let city hall know 635 - 5170 and our city staff will see to it that they get fixed
As spring approaches the city will once again encounter frost boils and pot holes, please update city hall as these become issues as well. 

Feedback on our employees is always welcomed and will be considered during our monthly personnel meeting. Send your observations to MantorvilleMayor@gmail.com

Remember to attend the public meeting on the 25th and let the council know which option you would like the city to pursue. More details about the options can be found in my last article which is also posted on my blog at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com. I look forward to seeing many of you next Monday night.

Yours in service

Chuck Bradford, Mayor - City of Mantorville
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com

Should it stay or should it go

The Mantorville City Council will have its first Public meeting regarding the options for the Waste Water Treatment plant. The options being considered are as follows:

·      First, we could do a partial fix; this fix would get the city through the next five years. The first phase of this project would cost about $1,000,000.

·      Second, in five years the city would then do an upgrade to our plant. Phase two of this project would cost about $2,000,000. The total cost of the option to keep the plant in Mantorville would be $3,000,000.

·      Third, this option for our treatment plant, it would be a single project and enter a joint agreement with the City of Kasson. This project would cost about $2,200,000.

I also want to mentions some special consideration for project selection. The difference between the two options above is about one million dollars to keep the plant in Mantorville. The difference in sewer rates between the two options above could be as high as an additional $360/yr per household. The Minnesota Pollution control agency could impose a new phosphorous limit on Mantorville sooner that the five year projection which would require instigating phase two above sooner. Lastly there are associated costs with maintaining a treatment plant in Mantorville such as a higher licensed operator than the city currently has.

The City Council is holding a public meeting on March 25, 2013 to solicit input from the citizens of Mantorville on their opinions about the options and the cost for each of the plans listed above. Anyone with ideas, concerns or suggestions is strongly encouraged to attend this first public hearing which will start at 6:30 pm in the Mantorville Council chamber.

For those that cannot attend or have questions prior to the public meeting, feel free to contact me at my email address of MantorvilleMayor@Gmail.com or add a comment to my blog at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.com I look forward to hearing your ideas and comments. Everyone that would like to be heard on this issue will be invited to speak.

 

New Life for Mantorville School

Many communities have been struggling with how to re-utilize their retired school building. In 2011 the Kellers bought the former Kasson-Mantorville school and have had success in identifying new uses for the school. The former school is now serving as a kind of business incubator and the Post Bulletin recently published an article highlighting some of the businesses that have been able to utilize space in the school for their business needs.

Some of the businesses include a piano restoration business, a home school resource center, a church,  an electronics company servicing niche markets and a very successful fudge company. The article that the Post Bulletin ran can be found at this URL.

The companies that are utilizing the school space have been successful because of the opportunity to expand their business without incurring the significant overhead of renting or buying an entire building.

Mantorville Spotlight                                                                                     February 1, 2013

The future of Mantorville will be shaped in a large way by the decisions we make today. After talking with the Mayor of Rochester, Ardell Brede, during an informational meeting, we now know how a portion of the Rochester sales tax will be distributed and the limitations on how those funds may be spent. Mantorville has several Economic Development opportunities which would qualify for the use of these funds. The state legislature has a preliminary picture of what the cities Local Government Aid is going to look like. The new numbers are different than what we thought it might be; however, the city is still in a good position to meet our financial needs for the next year. Even with the zero percent levy increase the council approved, the city is planning on moving forward with the projects identified for inception in 2013 and 2014. 

During my discussions with many of you last year, it was very clear that the city and council still need to work on communication. I have established a blog where I will post additional information of current topics the city is looking at, one of our new council members councilman Ballard has agreed to help city staff with web updates and support. While the city is going to make an additional effort to reach out to our citizens we need your feedback, concerns and ideas as well. My challenge to our neighbors is to contact us, visit a council meeting the second and fourth Monday of each month, send us an email, or share your thoughts when you see us or comment of one of our blogs. Links to all council members personal blogs can be found on the cities web site. My blog is located at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com. 

The city will have to finalize plans for the waste water treatment plant during 2013 while continuing to meet the needs of the city including setting responsible taxation policy. The council will need to work with our sub committees to promote Mantorville, nurture tourism and provide a stable / welcoming business environment. 

I look forward to the next year, to the possibilities and the work challenges we will face together for Mantorville. Together, I am confident Mantorville can and will be successful achieving our goals. Thank you again for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of the team that will help shape our future and for your confidence in me!

I want to thank the DCI for the opportunity to reach out the citizens of Mantorville by means of a bi-weekly column.

Yours in service,

Chuck Bradford

Mayor, City of Mantorville

MantorvilleMayor@GMail.Com

2013 State of the City

January 4, 2013

First, let me thank the citizens for their confidence and support this last election cycle. I am humbled and honored by the trust you have placed in me. The New Year brings both several opportunities as well as challenges for both Mantorville and Minnesota. I look forward to leveraging my problem solving skills and the combined skills of each of our city council members to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities.

The city has been presented several challenges by the Minnesota Legislature, with the elimination of the Market Value Credit and the continued reduced levels of LGA(Local Government Aid). The council will need to continue addressing these challenges by means of cost saving and spending reduction.

The city staff, council members and myself welcome your ideas and suggestion and encourage each of you to bring your comments, concerns and ideas to us individually or at a city council meeting which are held every second and fourth Monday of the month starting at 6:30 pm at city hall.

What do you see as the most pressing issues/needs for 2013?

The new city council will have to focus on the wastewater treatment plant during 2013 while continuing to meet the needs of the city including setting responsible taxation policy. In the New Year the city council will need to make a decision on upgrading our existing plant, building a new plant or working on a joint venture with the city of Kasson. This decision will need to focus on the financial impact for the citizens of Mantorville, the impact for the future of Mantorville and regulatory constraints enacted by the State Legislature.

Any big/special projects coming up this year?

The city recently received notice that Mantorville will receive a portion of the Rochester Sales tax and this will be available in 2013 in two distributions. These funds will need to be spent on legitimate Economic Development activity. The Mantorville EDA(Economic Development Authority) will need to examine the needs the city has in the area of economic development, plan projects that will promote economic vitality and promote Mantorville as a destination.

What would you like to see happen?

The city will need to strengthen it’s efforts to attract new business’ that complement the nature and character of the city. These efforts must take into consideration providing a conducive business environment, and working with the business community to remove barriers to their growth and success. Along with promoting business opportunities the city will need to look for new opportunities to promote education and tourism. The city council will need to continue to promote the historic nature of the city, while planning and promoting growth throughout the city.

Do you feel the city is going in the right direction?

The past councils have made sound decisions on controlling spending, however and more aggressive approach needs to be examined for controlling tax growth, limiting the breadth of government’s reach and providing for individuals freedoms.

Any other comments/concerns?

Mantorville already has a rich volunteer base; however, I would encourage citizens and families to get involved or to take an active role in supporting our community. Just a few of the ways to get involved are: adopt a park program, several advisory committees, volunteer groups and local events such marigold days throughout the year.

Thank you again for your confidence and I look forward to working with each of you to continue making Mantorville the outstanding Minnesota community it is.

I would also like to thank Mayor Nash for his dedication and service to the community of Mantorville as well as for his assistance during the transition and I look forward to his continued involvement.