Jordan Independent - 10 residents object to being assessed for Highway 282 work - Comments

Not embarrassed by the deal,

Johnnie14 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:52:27 -0500

Not embarrassed by the deal, embarrased by how free and lose a few have been with the facts. Scaring people for no reason.

I'll have to respectfully

Johnnie14 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:50:38 -0500

I'll have to respectfully disagree, I strongly believe the case is without merit and when it is all said and done the courts will agree with me. I'll state again, a wasted opportunity.

I'm trying to figure out who

westender73 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:07:01 -0500

I'm trying to figure out who from the church community was embarassed by this "sweetheart deal" that the city proposed. I do recall signing a petition with many other parishioners to block this deal. Between the petition & going to the city meetings, it seems to me the only ones who were really for this are the city & the guy$ bidding on the the job.

The leaders of St. John the

Thom Boncher — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:37:51 -0500

The leaders of St. John the Baptist Church are not "self-appointed."

Many members of the parish feel strongly about the negative impact the intersection work would have on the church. Not "a few."

The lawsuit is not "fruitless" until it's adjudicated.

Johnnie14, I think a soil

Thom Boncher — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:24:05 -0500

Johnnie14, I think a soil survey would be required on a project of that size before a building permit could be issued. It would be on file with the blueprints.

I don't think any pilings were driven during the construction of the school.

The city was not interested

swansonmej — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:30:07 -0500

The city was not interested in negotiating or be reasonable. They
filed a request to have church land condemned for reason of
eminent domain. Why? To TAKE the land from the church and use it
for the road. Would the city be as quick to take land away from
an individual/family/business? I wonder.

This is sad.

If the city leaders can not negotiate with people who strongly
believe in working together, they can not come to an agreement
with anyone.

This too is sad.

More than enough said. I will continue to pray that this situation
will come to a positive conclusion.

Actually the builder did

Johnnie14 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:23:04 -0500

Actually the builder did care, that's why they told the church leaders of the type of foundation they found when they dug up to it during construction. By church, I ment the self appointed church leaders, and the actually leaders (priest, finance board, ect...) I can tell you I know lots of church members who think this is a necessary project and that the council must act in the best interest of the entire community. They are actually embarassed by the actions of a few. Everyone understands the Church is a fixture of this community, and should be protected. That is exactly why I was frustrated when I learned there was a chance to negotiate a sweetheart deal with the city, one which would have included a full foundation study, landscaping, new pine trees, and more. Instead a few church members chose to push forward with a fruitless lawsuit. What a wasted opporunity. All that will come out of the lawsuit will be wasted time and money, it won't even affect the project. Very sad.

The "church" can't be

swansonmej — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 11:17:54 -0500

The "church" can't be concerned because it is a building not a person. It is the residents of Jordan and surrounding area that are concerned about our beautiful historic landmark. The issue isn't
about the "church". I am so tired of having the blame put on
the "church" and it's members for the controversy.

I guarantee you that the construction crew that worked on the
addition of the school was interested in taking care of the
church building and foundation. What incentive will the
crew on this project have to give a ****** about anything but getting
the job done? Why would they care about a building?

It is our city leaders and residents who should care. The
church building means something to the community. Ask anyone what
they remember about Jordan. Many of them say the church that you
can see for miles.

Since the church is so

Johnnie14 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:55:12 -0500

Since the church is so concerned, can I see the foundation study they must have done when they built the school and dug all the way up to the foundation and pounded the pilings in? Ohh wait, they didn't.

Sorry, I ment heat

Johnnie14 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:52:28 -0500

Sorry, I ment heat

The city council had

Johnnie14 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 08:51:24 -0500

The city council had discussions on this longer ago than just 4 years. If people came to any of the planning sessions they would have seen it, if they read meeting minutes they would have seen it, and if fact, several of the Catholic Churches priest saw the plan and didn't voice any problems with it. Its all available and on record. Section by section of lower Jordan has been redone over the years and this is the last portion, our city has done a great job of planning and replacing old sewer/water pipes. This is something Belle Plaine can't say! The truth is there are lots of projects talked about and the only time you hear people complian is in the 11th hour, when any interested citizen could learn all they want and react much sooner by following the actions of our city council, school board, planning commission, county board, etc..

My big questions is the

nowtap — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:26:38 -0500

My big questions is the female doing the presentation at Ridges stated the city have been trying to get money from MNDOT for 4 years for this project and know they finally got it, so why did the city not bring up their plans about this 4 years ago? Would it not been the best interest to open up a dialogue with the community when they are trying to get the money? If this was done I am sorry about my questions, but everyone I talk to never heard of the plan until the city got the money.

You are right Thom Boncher,

swansonmej — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 23:26:28 -0500

You are right Thom Boncher, there is No air conditioning in the church. Funny how the geologist did not bother to find that out. I wonder if he/she even went inside the church?

I bet if there were a coffee shop on the corner owned by a private citizen, the residents would be in an uproar if the city tried to
take land away from the coffee shop. Because this involves a church,
somehow it is considered acceptable by city leaders and others.

If it were YOUR home that was involved, would you be okay with the street moving 12 inches closer to your home's foundation? What if the home were 150 years old? Wouldn't you wonder how the stone/rock that it is built on would hold up?

When did the church get air

Thom Boncher — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 20:52:36 -0500

When did the church get air conditioning?

When was the church

Jason Allen — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:08:15 -0500

When was the church built.....many, many, many years ago. It would take a crane and a large sledge to take down that foundation. They built them things to last. Don't keep trying to use the foundation for an excuse for something that needs to be done. Would you keep saying theres no need for it if a coffee shop operated on that corner? Sometimes you have to look at what is better for the community.

10 residents object to being assessed for Highway 282 work

Mathias Baden — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:53:17 -0500

On Monday, 10 of 40 property owners submitted letters of objection to the Highway 282 assessments, after they were asked to pay $5,000 each prior to the beginning of construction.

The Jordan City Council has scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, to continue discussion about how much money residents will pay in assessments for the Highway 282 project.