City’s plan to buy bluffland is paying ransom
By Jim Galewski

Explain to me why the city would want to spend $500,000 in the name of protecting our blufflands? Can’t the city simply zone the hillside to keep houses from encroaching on the sight-plane of the bluff?

When the developer of another small parcel of land near Garvin Heights Park wanted to subdivide his land, the city put the brakes on this developer until it could be assured the rooftops of the homes in the new development wouldn’t come through the tree line.
Now the city is going to lay out a half-million dollars for 36 acres of blufftop that may be developed into building lots.

I know the price of land has gone up, but $100,000 for a building lot? If the city doesn’t extend sewer and water to the five homes, each lot will have another $50,000 in a 1,000-foot well and a sewer system in heavy clay.

It’s not much land. I suppose any house that breaks our view of the bluffs is an unnatural eyesore. We only have to enter Minnesota on Interstate 90 from Wisconsin to see how homes have broken the blufftops above La Crescent, Minn.

I don’t blame owner Jerry Papenfuss for wanting top dollar for his property. With fewer and fewer building lots overlooking one of the most scenic valleys in the country, the land becomes more valuable.

Is the city paying a ransom for its blufftops? As the city shapes its bluffland protection ordinance, it should be able to ensure no development encroaches over the line of sight. That would save the city some serious money.

Sure, it would reduce the value the land owned by Papenfuss, but his appraisal is pure speculation built on unreasonable plans to park houses just off the ledges of the bluffs. It’s not the city’s responsibility to protect the landowner’s investment. The city doesn’t owe Papenfuss anything and shouldn’t be handing him a winning lottery ticket for having one of the last developable areas on the bluff.

I’d like to see the city fix this problem without throwing money at it. There are plenty of high-ticket items on the city’s wish list. Buying the hills around the city to protect our view shouldn’t be necessary.

Your five minutes are up

At last week’s Winona Public School board meeting, a professional couple who offered their expertise to survey the teachers of the district was silenced by the school board chairman, Brian Neil.

Tim and Susan Hatfield addressed the board. They wanted to clear their names and add some clarity to the criticism of the board, Superintendent Paul Durand and his administration. Tim Hatfield addressed the board last week, but board chairman Neil cut his speech short after an allotted five minutes.

Citizens who address the board during the public comment section of the meeting are limited to five minutes. If you bring something to the board that’s pleasant news, no one times the presentation.

The Hatfields conducted a survey that proved highly critical of the school district’s administration. While the report was received, it was quickly shelved, and the process and results were spun to discount the results.

The Hatfields were accused of plagiarizing the survey, and the superintendent did his best to take the focus off his poor performance. Anytime the survey was brought up, it was quickly discounted as unprofessional and poorly conducted.

Durand is out of his league when he spars with the Hatfields concerning proper decorum and professionalism. We should be using the resources of our universities to our advantage. Using accepted practices and already-used and proven questions is simple efficiency. There is no point in reinventing the wheel.

Curtailing Hatfield’s presentation hurts us all. It’s upsetting that the school board wants to keep its focus positive. That’s not realistic. If the board doesn’t acknowledge its problems and doesn’t take steps to improve the working environment for its staff, how can education improve?

As for Neil cutting off Hatfield, it was an insult to a respected educator. It tells the public that the board isn’t interested in finding the truth and fixing its problems. When the next election comes around in November, incumbent board members may find the voters have decided that their five minutes are up.

Galewski is the retired editor and Opinion page editor of the Winona Daily News. His views don’t necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper. If you have an idea or tip about a Winona issue, call Jim at (507) 452-3960. His e-mail address is editor@luminet.net.

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