Ninth Street Stop Signs

The stop signs along Ninth Street ate being phased out and a couple of new ones added to side streets. According to MNDOT surveys this should actually reduce speeds along ninth and help traffic flow. Ninth street is a collector street and the City and County have coordinated on this effort.  The City will continue to monitor the traffic situation along ninth and make needed adjustments going forward.

Pet Licenses Updated

The City of Mantorville now is offering Lifetime Pet Licenses which are also branded with the new City logo. Fill out applications at City Hall.

New Development Lots Available

There are now several new lots available in Mantorville, some of which are build to suit and others a new builds that will be available next year. I have been asked by several new perspective residents about build site opportunities within Mantorville and it is exciting now to have the ability to inform our visitors about these new opportunities. If you know of friends that are looking for housing options in the Kasson / Mantorville area tell them there are lots available now and have them contact City Hall for more info.

Fifth Street Update

The City is planning on phase two completion of Fifth Street later this fall. The City Engineer had a preliminary walk through with MNDOT for phase three, which is slated for 2022 and will coincide with highway 57 rebuild within Mantorville. The City is looking for opportunities to improve the aesthetics downtown with all this construction including architectural lighting and burying of power lines.The Minnesota Department of Transportation is allowing the City engineering staff to take the lead on this project but the State will provide a great deal of input as well. Some of the features will include Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant sidewalks access.

Back to School

Soon our students will be going back to school. There is construction going on at the High School and there will be additional traffic turning on to and off of Mantorville Ave. Please slow down and pay extra attention.

City Council Compensation

A recent email tread from the Minnesota Mayors group was exploring council compensation levels. I was a little surprised at some of the numbers that different Mayors presented about the Mayor and Council member compensation levels. Simply for comparison sake I wanted to present just some of the responses I saw in this thread.

City Name	Mayor	Council	Per Meeting
St. Joseph	$524	$314	$35
Rushford			$120
Halwey	$500	$400	$50
Royalton			$100
Montrose	$125	$100
Morris	$541	$458
Bock	$524	$314	$35

Council Monthly Compensation Levels
The Mantorville City Council receive $1800 per year and $2000/year for the Mayor. Meetings do not have a stipend for attendance. Since I am not allowed to "Just not accept" my compensation I have normally donated it back to one of our sub groups, the City or one of the 401c3 in town such as the MRA.

Trails Update

The City and the Dodge County Trails Association has had some recent success. While the township continues to drag their feet on trail access, we have had some additional areas of success. The Dodge County Trails Association will be restarting our regular meeting and are currently looking for new members. Those interested can contact City Hall or myself.

Fifth Street Update

Quick update on fifth street. The City is still planning a "phase two" project on fifth street this fall. This project will include a pedestrian pathway from Bergmann Park down to Riverside Park.

AT&T Antennas up and running

A few weeks ago the City Engineer, City Staff and myself had an opportunity to check on the installation of the new antenna equipment on our water tower. The new antennas are now operational and serving not only the residents of Mantorville, but also the area around the City. This partnership between AT&T and the City helps AT&T provide better service, helps the Citizens of Mantorville will choice in cell providers and helps the City with non-tax based revenue from rent payments.

Panoramic View after AT&T Equipment Install

Kiosks in place in Riverside Park

The new Kiosks have been installed in Riverside Park. These new educational signs teach about land and water stewardship and bring about new awareness of recreational opportunities across the water shed region.

Ninth Strret Stop Signs

The City Council has been looking at speed and safety issues on 9th street The City Engineer has shared some Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDOT) studies that show that speed tends to be an issue on streets that drivers feel have excessive stop signs. So as phase one of our attempt to address some of the speed issues the City will be working with the County to reduce the number of stops going down ninth street. Please pay attentions as these changes occur until everyone can get adjusted to the new traffic patterns.

Thank You Stage Coach Days Volunteers

Thank You to all the volunteers that worked so hard to make this years SCD a success. I really enjoyed the Baking Contest and it was very hard to choose a single winner. After the judging we auctioned off the top three best pies for charity. Thank you to everyone that come down to bid on the winners. I did want to include a picture from this weekend.

Pie Judging ; Photo Spencer Bradford

Happy Fourth of July

Fourth of July, 2018

Fourth of July

I hope everyone enjoyed the fourth of July.In 1814 Fort McHenry was relentlessly bombarded by the British. The pounding was so sever that

according to quote on The Smithsonian's web site that has been attributed to Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star Spangled Banner "It seemed as though mother earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone,". The attack lasted so long and was so intense that no one expected the Americans to survive. When dawn finally broke the American flag did still fly over the fort. The British had not taken the fort and the determination of the Amnerican soldier was reveled to be unwavering. What Keys did not know at them time when he wrote the poem that later became our National Anthem was that several times during the night the flag pole had been struck and fallen and each time another man would venture fourth, right our flag and more often than not meet their own fate. It is this legacy that we celebrate each year on the fourth of July. While this battle took place in September, many believe this to be a critical turning point in the war. This year when you see those rockets bursting in air during the fireworks display, remember what those bright colors and loud booms truly represent. For all the patriots that have continued on in the Tradition of Fort McHenry and placed themselves in harms way to be vigilant for all of our freedoms, THANK YOU! Know that for you, our faithful defenders, that with each burst in the sky this fourth of July that we are thinking of you.

No heavy trucks on 5^th

In the past the City has not been overly concerned about heavy traffic on fifth street since the road surface was in such poor condition. A couple of years ago we finished a section of fifth street and we are planning on doing more this fall. The new road surface was not designed to carry more weight than the road was originally designed for; therefore, it is important that we now help people understand that the road will be damaged if large heavy vehicles travel up and down fifth street heading east from downtown. There has been some confusion recently about the weight limit signs, the road is posted at 5 tons and this is total vehicle weight, not a per axle rating. The City wants to keep our new road in perfect condition as long as possible, and by following the weight limitations for our road we will more likely be able to be successful. Thanks for understanding.

Stage Coach Days

Thank You to all the volunteers that worked so hard to make this years SCD a success. I really enjoyed the Baking Contest and it was very hard to choose a single winner. After the judging we auctioned off the top three best pies for charity. Thank you to everyone that come down to bid on the winners. I did want to include a picture from this weekend.

Elections

August 14 is primary election day in Minnesota. In Minnesota we have an edorsing process. During endorsement, a candidate is chosen from a number of candidates to run on a given party's ticket for a particular office. If one of those candidates chooses to not honor the party's endorsement, that candidate can then “force a primary” if this happens then the party's candidate is chosen from the names presented on a primary ballot during a election that is a few months prior to the general election. The candidate that chooses to challenge an endorsed candidate will often campaign saying things like “we don't want a few political elite choosing our candidate”. How are these “political elite” chosen then? In March of an election year, we as Minnesotans, go to our local precinct caucus where we talk about issues and ideas that are important to us. The causes is attended by your neighbors, this is the smallest population division for political purposes, these are the people you see every day. During the caucus, we choose some individuals to represent us at the County convention, where the ideas we spoke about at caucus are collected and prepared to be presented to the State Party. The County convention then chooses people to represent us at the Congressional District and State Conventions. The “political elite” are those neighbors we choose to talk to the candidates, do research, consider our concerns and represent our views when selecting a candidate for our party's endorsement. Too often the non-endorsed candidate has connections to out-of-state financial tools and feels that they can outspend the endorsed candidate and simply buy an election. I find it very intriguing when this happens and when that same candidate then talks about political insiders. This year both major parties (DFL, MNGOP) have primaries in both the First Congressional District as well as the Governors race. This year both parties have the ability to determine if the individual voter believes in our grass-roots endorsing process, or if our elections are up for sale. I strongly encourage everyone to vote this August in one of the two parties primary elections and reaffirm our commitment to the endorsing process. Your Choice Minnesota!

Township blocking trails

During the Township meeting on June 4th, The City of Mantorville shared an area of cooperation with the Township. The City of Mantorville is working on a local sidewalk up along fifth street. There was an opportunity for the Township to enjoy some cost savings by working with the DNR on a trail segment along fifth street past Mantorville. When asked if they had any interest in helping kids from those existing development have a safe path into the city the Townships reply was "Not at this time".

The City of Mantorville, the DNR and the Stage Coach Trails association will continue to work on finding safe, enjoyable recreational opportunities and identify alternative paths.

Mayor's Blog

I have a blog that I keep updated. There is a link on the City's web site to my blog which is located at MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com. In my blog I have additional articles, photos and updates that do not make it into my periodic article. Please check out the articles on-line and add a comment if you so desire.

Yours in Service

Chuck Bradford
Mayor, City of Mantorville
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com

Stage Coach Days Celebration

June 22, 2018

Plein Air:

The Mantorville Art Guild will once again hold their annual Plein Air event during this years Stage Coach Days. The Plein Air event is an opportunity for artist to showcase their painting and drawings and help promote the artistic community within Mantorville. Contact the Mantorville Art Guild for more information.

Costume & Fashion Show:

One of the more unique offering during the Stage Coach Days celebration is the annual is the Costuming Day and Fashion Show Luncheon. This is a great way to show off your great period attire and promote Historic Mantorville at the same time. Even if you don't have period attire this is a fun event to come down and witness.

Mantorville Melodrama:

The Mantorville Theater Company is presenting one of their melodramas again this weekend. This summer the MTC is presenting scripts written by local writers and entered into their script contest. These are fun theater where audience participation is strongly encouraged. The MTC is also offering a Melodrama Summer Camp, this is a fun way for our younger actors to start learning the fine art of Melodrama performance. Refer to their web site for more information. The MTC web site is www.mantorvillain.com/summer-melodrama-season

Pie Contest:

One of the event I am really looking forward to this year is the pie contest. Local bakers and chefs are busy now preparing yummy pies for this years contest. I along with some other community leaders have been asked to serve as judges. This is always a fun event but very difficult to choose one winner! Come down to Mantorville this Saturday at 11:30 and watch the fun as we try to determine the best pie in Mantorville.

And So Much More:

This years SCD also include a Horse Pull, Live Music, Historic Displays/Exhibits and wrap up with a vintage baseball game on Sunday. I hope to see everyone down in Mantorville this weekend as well celebrate the summer season and our historic heritage.

Yours in Service

Chuck Bradford
Mayor, City of Mantorville
MayorBradford.BlogSpot.Com

Fifth Street Weight Limit

In the past the City has not been overly concerned about heavy traffic on fifth street since the road surface was in such poor condition. A couple of years ago we finished a section of fifth street and we are planning on doing more this fall. The new road surface was not designed to carry more weight than the road was originally designed for; therefore, it is important that we now help people understand that the road will be damaged if large heavy vehicles travel up and down fifth street heading east from downtown. There has been some confusion recently about the weight limit signs, the road is posted at 5 tons and this is total vehicle weight, not a per axle rating. The City wants to keep our new road in perfect condition as long as possible, and by following the weight limitations for our road we will more likely be able to be successful. Thanks for understanding.