Community Spotlights 2017
Winona, MN
Mark Moeller (retired)
City Planner
July 2017
Description of the Community
The City of Winona’s legacy as one of Minnesota’s best kept secrets is acting as a foundation for new growth and development. The city on the Mississippi River is seeing downtown revitalization and reinvestment spur on greater activity throughout the area.
How long have you worked for the community?
City Planner Mark Moeller spent over 40 years with the City of Winona before retiring at the end of May, 2017.
What is the greatest part of your job?
Over his extensive time with the City, Moeller managed to oversee growth beyond Winona’s traditional geographic constraints and an increased emphasis on both historic and natural preservation.
What is a unique fact or characteristic about your community?
Now with the beautiful bluffs, lakes, and river being tapped for recreation opportunities and interest increasing in the historic downtown of the city, growth turns inward. Adaptive reuse of older buildings, like the rehabilitation of 109 E. 3rd Street utilizing historic tax credits have earned local recognition from the City’s Heritage Preservation Commission. Stiff competition for recognition by the HPC has occurred in recent years with excellent efforts succeeding across the city including new retail space in the Latsch Building and the introduction of a brewery just outside Levee Park on the Mississippi River. Infill development in Winona has centered around key properties that have been vacant or used for surface parking in the past. 60 Main Street is a significant development of note as the Port Authority of Winona moves forward with a developer selected at the start of the 2017 year, bringing apartments, retail, and a downtown hotel near the river.
Are there any new projects on the horizon?
In addition to ongoing development, the City is hopeful that a new thriving era can be spurred on by City action. The most noticeable of these is the physical redesign of the entrance to Levee Park at 2nd and Main Street. By creating a gateway tying the city closer to the river, the City of Winona is showing its commitment to downtown and its historical relationship to nature. What may be less noticeable for many Winonans but still equally important is the recently-completed update to the City’s Unified Development Code. Completed shortly before Moeller’s departure from the City, City Planner Carlos Espinosa will be responsible for the next chapter of Winona’s development after committing two years to the UDC’s development. The first comprehensive update since the early 1960s, the new development code emphasizes mixed use development in the downtown core, downtown fringe, and mixed use neighborhood districts spread throughout the city. The development code update, in addition to the city’s complete streets policy currently in development, will allow Winona, already known as a walkable and bikeable community, to grow into a place that can be enjoyed more easily by everyone.
St. Joseph, MN
Therese Haffner
Community Development Director
May 2017
Description of the Community
St. Joseph is located in scenic central Minnesota eight miles west of St. Cloud so residents enjoy the amenities of a metro area while retaining its small town character. There are nearly 7,000 residents in St. Joseph and it is also home to the College of St. Benedict (CSB) so they play a big role in the community. St. Joseph is known for its community events and arts, and in fact, Joetown Rocks Parish Festival is considered one of Central Minnesota’s biggest and best family-friendly 4 th of July celebrations. The festival is a two-day event, featuring a free concert and fireworks on July 3 and a parade, musical entertainment, water ball contest, quilt auction, and raffle drawing on July 4 th . Joetown Rocks draws both residents and out of towners. An estimated 18,000 to 20,000 attended the celebration in 2016. The Mill Stream Arts Festival is held in September in downtown St. Joseph. This festival draws a big crowd and features a wide variety of visual arts, literature and poetry, music, art activities for children, food and more.
How long have you worked for the community?
I have worked for the City of St. Joseph for a year but in the planning field for over ten years.
What is the greatest part of your job?
I love working on development projects and assisting property owners and developers in the process. Being that resource for both the community and developer is fulfilling. I want the community to thrive and the development to be a success.
What is a unique fact or characteristic about your community?
St. Joseph is a strong arts community and keeping it local is also important to folks. It is a community that offers a high quality of life and amenities for all ages. The downtown has a great vibe with the people and businesses. The Local Blend, which opened in 2006, is a locally owned, homemade, organic coffee shop located in an historic building in downtown. Their products are sourced locally and they have a reputation for being a great coffee shop. The wood in their booths is from local trees and their food is served in pottery created by local artists. For several years running they were voted first prize for Best Coffeehouse in the Best of Central Minnesota St. Cloud Times Readers Poll. They have entertainment with open mic night and live music performances from local and traveling musicians. Minnesota Street Market, a cooperatively owned store, sells local food and local art in an historic building in downtown St. Joseph. The College of St. Benedict has an excellent fine arts program and hosts hundreds of events annually, such as art exhibitions, concerts, plays, and various performances bringing visitors to St. Joseph.
Are there any new projects on the horizon?
Earlier this year we launched an update to our Comprehensive Plan. The new Comprehensive Plan will be user friendly and easy to understand. We have also put a lot of emphasis in engaging the public. The City in partnership with the St. Cloud Area Planning Organization (APO) is completing the CSAH 75 Pedestrian Crossing Study. The study is looking at existing conditions and evaluating the feasibility of various ways to improve safe pedestrian and bicyclist crossing of CSAH 75. CSAH 75 divides the north and south sides of the community and although this major roadway serves as a key connection for commerce, it is also a barrier. Two residential development projects under construction are Fortitude Senior and Woodcrest of Country Manor. Fortitude Senior is a 47 unit senior age in place complex that offers independent to assisted living apartments with an anticipated opening in June 2017. Woodcrest of Country Manor is a phased mixed use senior development featuring patio homes, and independent living, memory care and assisted living apartments. The senior campus sits on approximately 124 acres with walking trails and oak woodlands that will be preserved. Related on-site services and commercial amenities will include a chapel, salon, rehab center, convenience store, coffee shop and restaurant. The City is also planning for a future community center. Currently, community programming and space needs are being reviewed.
Fergus Falls, MN
Wayne T. Hurley, AICP
Planning Director, West Central Initiative
March 2017
Description of the Community
Fergus Falls is a regional center of 13,000+ people located in west central Minnesota. The community is a regional hub for retail, manufacturing,
healthcare and education. Fergus Falls is known for its historic main street, Lincoln Avenue, and for having preserved numerous historic buildings, including the Kirkbride, a castle-like former state psychiatric hospital. The community is well-established as a focal point for the arts, with several arts-based organizations calling Fergus Falls home. Notable amongst these is Springboard for the Arts, an economic and community development organization for artists and by artists, which has offices in St. Paul and Fergus Falls. The community also serves as a gateway to Otter Tail County Lakes Country, and tourism is a significant part of the economy throughout the year.
How long have you worked for the community?
I have worked in Fergus Falls – and for WCI – for 19 years.
What is the greatest part of your job?
WCI covers a nine-county region in west central Minnesota, so I have the opportunity to work in many of the great communities in the region – including Fergus Falls. Because I live and work in Fergus Falls, it affords me the opportunity to become involved in lots of things in the community beyond those that WCI is directly involved with. I’m fortunate that the duties of my job and my personal interests have significant overlap. The old adage of “do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life” is certainly true for me!
What is a unique fact or characteristic about your community?
Fergus Falls has been one of the top communities for participation in the “30 Days of Biking” (30DOB) challenge. 30DOB started in Minneapolis as a pledge to ride your bike every day in the month of April. For the past three years, Fergus Falls has been one of the top participating cities in the state, even topping Minneapolis in terms of per-capita participation. The bike culture in Fergus Falls has been growing exponentially in recent years, resulting in the city being designated as an official “Bicycle Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists.
Are there any new projects on the horizon?
Two major projects are currently underway that will impact the future of Fergus Falls for decades. First is the Downtown and Riverfront Master Plan, which was started in October 2016. The project, which will wrap up in December 2017, will lay the groundwork for future development of the downtown area and riverfront corridor. For more information click here.
The second significant project is the continued redevelopment process of the Kirkbride Building and other buildings on the campus. The City of Fergus Falls is in the midst of an asset preservation project on the main Kirkbride building, which will serve to protect the envelope of the building and prepare it for future redevelopment. The city also recently completed utility work to bring new water and sewer lines to the building, as well as updated street lights to reflect a more historic atmosphere on the campus. Two buildings on the campus have been renovated into apartments, with the second of these being completed in 2016. For more information, click here.
Ramsey, MN
Tim Gladhill, AICP
Community Development Director
January 2017
Description of the Community
Ramsey is a 29 square mile city bordered by the Mississippi River and Rum River located along US Highway 10 and the Northstar Commuter Rail on the western edge of the metro area. Ramsey has a population of just over 25,000 and is expected to grow to over 32,000 by the year 2040. We pride ourselves on being where urban living meets the great outdoors and part of the Greater Minnesota Gateway. Our convenient location along US Highway 10 and MN Highway 47 makes us a destination for businesses, residents, and visitors alike. We pride ourselves on successfully planning for and achieving a Rail Station on the Northstar Commuter Rail, being one of the few opportunities for true greenfield transit-oriented development.
Ramsey is also known for its interconnected system of parks, trails, open space, and public spaces. Ramsey has approximately 565 acres of public park and trail corridors and fifteen (15) percent of the community is protected by wetlands.
How long have you worked for the community?
I first started working as a seasonal Public Work Maintenance Worker in 2000, including a stint as a full-time Maintenance Worker. After continuing to work during the summer during my time at Minnesota State Mankato, I started working as a Management/Planning Intern in 2006 after graduation and hired full time in the Community Development Department in 2008 as an Associate Planner. I became Senior Planner in 2010, Development Services Manager in 2011, and Community Development Director in 2013.
What is the greatest part of your job?
The greatest part of my job is the interaction with the public, whether it be large land use projects or smaller building permits. Our team has put a renewed focus on public engagement in all of our policy decisions, ranging from land use applications to road reconstruction. We strive hard to ‘go beyond the public hearing’ and interact with our constituents infrequent and natural ways, long before any alternatives are developed. This collaborative policymaking has been an important factor in our success. This focus has filtered down into the most basic of land use and permit applications, reflecting positively in response from participants. The team that the organization has put together to achieve our strategic plan is second to none.
What is a unique fact or characteristic about your community?
The first settlement in Ramsey began because of trading along the banks of the Mississippi. Many settlers came here on a steamboat called "The Governor Ramsey" named after our first territorial governor. This is how the city acquired the name. Only a few of the first houses and structures built in Ramsey remain today. The most notable structure of historic significance is identified on the National Register of Historic Places, the Old Ramsey Town Hall, located west of Highway 47 just north of County Road 116. This structure was built during the 19th century and was originally used as a schoolhouse. A significant effort has been made to preserve and maintain this building, which currently sits vacant waiting for a user.
Are there any new projects on the horizon?
Ramsey has seen growth in retail, employment, and multi-family sectors. A workforce housing development by CommonBond recently opened a 47 unit workforce housing development. The project was fully leased prior to opening, and 75% of the tenants came from Ramsey or an immediate surrounding community. A new 121 unit market-rate apartment building is set to open at the first of the year. A new workforce housing development by Aeon is also planned in the next year. Work has also just begun on a nearly 100,000 square foot expansion of Anderson Dahlen, a metal manufacturing facility. Looking forward to 2017, a review is underway on two (2) residential subdivisions totaling nearly 100 households.