Riverside declines land purchase

RIVERSIDE ? The Riverside City Council voted down a resolution to purchase land west of town to use for a welcome sign. The vote was 3-2 with councilors Nate Kasdorf, Ralph Schnoebelen and Bob Schneider voting against while councilors Christine Kirkwood and Kevin Kiene voted in favor.

Riverside resident Mike Meinders was the first member of the audience to speak on the matter. Meinders said he collected a survey of over 90 eligible voters in Riverside who opposed the purchase of the land west of town. Meinders said the proposed location, about two miles west of town, was too far from the town. He also said the sign would be a distraction and might cause drivers to creep across the centerline in order to read it because it would be on the north side of the road.

Resident Carolyn Hudson sits on the Visioning Committee, which created the plans for the welcome signs around Riverside. Hudson said the committee talked with every landowner between the edge of town and the proposed site and that none of them were willing to sell.

?We wouldn?t have gone out that far if we could have found any place closer,? she said.

Rob Weber said the city shouldn?t buy any land at all if it can?t find some closer to the city.

?In the absence of a good location, buying a bad location doesn?t seem like the answer, either,? he said. ?If we don?t have a spot, then we don?t have a spot.?

Dennis Walker said he owns ground along Highway 22 west of Riverside and that he is willing to negotiate a price. He said he?d prefer to lease the land than to sell it.

Kirkwood said it wouldn?t make much sense to put the sign on leased land because the city could lose access to the sign if the owner won?t extend the lease. Kirkwood took exception to a comment by Meinders that the sign project has not been transparent. Kirkwood said the Visioning Committee is open to the public and that its concept designs are on the wall in city hall. Mayor Bill Poch said the designs on the wall in city hall do not reflect the proposed sign?s location west of town.

Kiene recommended the city purchase the land west of town. He said the Visioning Committee had been begging for input on the signs for three years.

?We have to support our committees or else no one will want to be on them,? he said.

The councilors agreed they could talk to more potential sellers and discuss the purchase of the land for the sign at a future council meeting.

The council also considered a proposal to move the Election Day polling place from city hall to the fire station. Vernita Schneider is a poll worker and she told the council there is not enough room in city hall. The poll workers have typically used just the southern room at city hall on election days.

Firefighter Randy Sexton took the microphone and gave reasons why the polling place should not be moved to the fire station. He said he didn?t want the election equipment stored in the fire station because the firefighters have their own equipment there. V. Schneider said the parking was insufficient around city hall, but Sexton said there would be even less parking around the fire station. He said moving the polling place would just confuse voters anyway.

City Administrator Rusty Rogerson said the city should simply open the entire city hall to the poll workers rather than relegate them to one room. He said he could work with Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer to make city hall an acceptable polling location.

Rogerson spoke briefly about how to reduce the city?s legal fees to its city attorney, Les Lamping. Rogerson said he would like all legal questions the council has for Lamping to go through him so that he can ensure that the same questions aren?t asked over and over. He recommended that the council not ask Lamping to come to a council meeting unless he is issuing an opinion because it costs the city $300 to $400 to pay Lamping to attend the meetings. The city pays Lamping $75 an hour.