Rosemount | Bill Roehl

Archive for the ‘Rosemount’

Hotel Slated for Rosemount?

Published November 18th, 2010 in Apple Valley, Rosemount, South Metro | 13 Comments »

According to an article over at Thisweek, a market study conducted by Hospitality Marketers International concluded that Rosemount needs a hotel to support the various types of businesses in and around the city.

From the article:

Among the reasons for the site preference was its proximity to local businesses travelers would want to visit such as restaurants and stores such Walgreens and the Holiday gas station and convenience store.

[...]

Visitors who may want to stay in Rosemount include Flint Hills business people visiting the refinery, families of students at Dakota County Technical College, people visiting for family reunions and teams in town for tournaments.

Up until just a few years ago when the GrandStay hotel was erected in the Founders Circle area of Apple Valley there was only one hotel nearby and that sat at the corner of Cedar/CR-42. While decisions made by commercial entities are their own and are certainly part of the business world, in this case the City of Rosemount may be using taxpayer dollars to, “seek investors and developers to see if there is interest in the site.” With little growth seen in the area and very little expected in the next few years due to the economy, a valid concern would be that the hotel would be built, be underutilized, and may even fail and the city would not regain its original investment in the property.

What do you think about the prospects of building a hotel in Rosemount to support a technical college (which has very few–if any–students from outside the area and such examples as family reunions? Do you think that this is a wise investment for the City of Rosemount to make or should it be left solely up to interested commercial entities instead? Thoughts?

UMore Research Center Loss Will Cost Millions?

Published November 18th, 2010 in Metro, Minneapolis, Rosemount, South Metro | 5 Comments »

According to this letter to the editor which recently appeared in the Minnesota Daily, one UMN staffer argues that the mining which will occur prior to the University of Minnesota’s UMore Vision will eliminate a research center on the property requiring the University to spend upwards of $40 million to replace it.

From the letter:

The University will receive $1 per ton of gravel mined. To replace that research farm and facilities in the Metro region will require a minimum of $40 million. That is 40 million tons of gravel unaccounted for in the Daily story. If the mining were shifted to the eastern two-thirds of UMore Park where there is no major activity now, it would cost zero tons of gravel since no replacement farm and facilities would be required.

The total amount of aggregate estimated to be available on the UMore site totals approximately 400 million tons. Mr. Everett’s suggests that the University mine the remaining 2/3 of the site and reserve 1/3 for the research facility a move which would theoretically cost the University over $90 million if there is indeed 400 million tons of aggregate available to be mined.

While plenty within the community are not pleased with the mining plans according to the Minnesota Daily, the City of Rosemount is working to approve a plan which will work for residents and the University.

What do you think of the University’s plans to possibly do away with a research facility on the UMore site which would cost the University and possibly taxpayers $40 million to replace? Do you think that it’s wise to keep it on the site with the potential for revenue from the mining operations to exceed that of the cost of a new research facility? Are you concerned about the mining plans and how they will affect Rosemount and the surrounding suburbs as trucks travel the roads and aggregate is moved out? Whatever you have to say about the University of Minnesota’s on-going plans for UMore go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you have to say.

Armistice Day Blizzard in Dakota County

Published November 12th, 2010 in Farmington, Rosemount, South Metro | 21 Comments »

Plow breaking open drift between Pine Bend and Hampton on Highway 52
Used with permission from the Minnesota Historical Society

Seventy years ago this week, Minnesota and much of the Upper Midwest was hit by a deadly blizzard known as the Armistice Day Blizzard. According to Wikipedia, the blizzard came on the tail of unseasonably warm temperatures similar to what we have been experiencing this year so far, and by the evening rain, sleet and snow began to come down whipped up with high winds. The storm dropped 16″ of snow on the Twin Cities and 27″ in Collegeville, MN (max of the storm) by 11/12/1940 killed 49 people in Minnesota and 145 overall across the affected area. According to this KARE article some deaths were avoided when one person ran out to check for hunters who had been out enjoying the warm temperatures but were totally unprepared for the storm. As you can see from the photo above the fallout from the storm carried through for several days afterward.

The photo above was taken somewhere along US-52 (then apparently known as Trunk Highway 52) between the Pine Bend Refinery and Hampton in Dakota County. The drifts experienced were due to the heavy winds which accompanied the snow. The Wikipedia article noted the winds were between 50 and 80 MPH and drifts were as high as 20 feet in some parts.

Growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania the worst blizzard I remember was the “Storm of the Century” which dropped at least 30″ of snow at our house. The drifting snow was so deep that we couldn’t open the front door and when we opened the garage the snow fell into the garage and required several hours just to clear the driveway. I have a picture somewhere of me standing next to the snow pack at the base of the driveway and it was over my head. What were some of the worst storms you experienced? Did they receive names such as “The Halloween Blizzard” or “The Storm of the Century”? Have you ever seen snow drifts as deep as the one in the photo above?

Whatever you have to say about the Armistice Day Blizzard or any blizzard you may have experienced yourself go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you have to say!

Are More MVTA Park and Rides Necessary?

Published November 4th, 2010 in Apple Valley, Rosemount, South Metro | 1 Comment »

While, to some, the latest and most expensive addition to the MVTA’s transit stations was unnecessary and over-the-top, no one can argue that many of the transit stations around the South Metro attract a lot of cars and transit riders every single weekday. However there are some, such as the one at 157th and Pilot Knob (across from the SuperTarget), which sit empty day after day and as such are only serviced by two buses twice a day. While proponents of new transit park and rides/stations are of the “if you build it…they will come” mentality, opponents wonder if all the money is worth spending at this point in time especially in the face of rising taxes and diminished growth.

According to this article in the StarTribune, the MVTA is already looking at developing a 100 space park and ride in Rosemount with the possibly of construction beginning as early as 2011. Following Rosemount’s 2009 threat to leave the taxation district if they were not better served by the transit authority, the MVTA has begun to ramp up its efforts there.

From the article:

The total cost of the project, including construction, new buses and initial service, is $2.4 million. The bulk of that funding is expected to come from a federal grant.

The grant money is available in 2013, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, but having the plans ready to go might allow the Rosemount station to move up in the state’s plan if other projects get delayed and there is enough money left over.

If that doesn’t work, the city and MVTA could try to front some of the construction expense and then be reimbursed in 2013.

Being that a good portion of the Cedar BRT project was supposed to be paid for by large federal grants but which, to this day, has not been fully paid out, some residents are looking for alternative ways to have MVTA expansion expenditures covered. One StarTribune commenter suggests that the MVTA look to the abandoned Apple Valley Transit Station, which currently sits vacant–yet lit and heated–due to its use as a bathroom stopover for MVTA drivers.

With such limited route service and other nearby transit stations sitting vacant, is this the time to be laying out $2.4+ million in the hopes that federal funds will later pay for it? What are your suggestions for keeping the costs low at this planned park and ride in Rosemount? How would you like to see your tax dollars spent for MVTA expenditures? Whatever you have to say about the MVTA’s on-going expansion throughout the taxation district go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you have to say.