Lou Michaels
Wyoming Township reporterTwo incumbents will be on the ballot in Wyoming Township next Tuesday when two supervisor seats will be up for vote at the town hall during the annual township election.
Incumbent Ron Swenson is being challenged for his town board seat by Lou Sibik.
In the second race, incumbent Richard Berglund is facing off against Jeff Eiffler, a town resident who previously held the town board seat.
Veteran Town Board Clerk Norma Olson is unopposed in her bid for reelection.
Voting takes place at the town hall from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on March 9. The annual meeting follows at 8:15 p.m.
The town board candidates responded to a questionnaire for this weekís election coverage.
Swenson......
I have lived in this area almost my entire life. I graduated from high school in 1965 and went on to Dunwoody and St. Paul TVI to become an electrician. My wife Candi and I live on my family farm in the township. We have one grown son who also lives in Wyoming Township.
I have been interested in township politics (grassroots government) for most of my life as a neighbor was the township clerk and his brother was a town board supervisor in the 1950s. In the 1970s my dad was a town board supervisor so I realized the importance of being active in local government.
I have been a town board supervisor for seven of the last 10 years and have tried to represent everyone equally. I feel it is important to spend the peopleís money carefully and with their approval.
At the annual meeting in March, the public sets an annual budget and the board listens to their vote. In the cities, the city council determines the budget and how the people will be taxed and how their levies will be spent. I feel it is a disgrace to see any public official spending the taxpayersí money like it is water.
Presently Wyoming Township has the hostile annexation issue with Chisago City. In my opinion, the large area of land proposed to be annexed would be a case of pure naked land grabbing. I have had numerous letters, phone calls and e-mails from people very much against the annexation.
It really is too bad the people are not able to vote on this issue. It is one thing if a landowner or a group of landowners wish to become part of a city, but to have the decision forced on all the people is another thing.
In my opinion, the township does a great job of providing services for its residents and planning for the future growth through the comprehensive plan and its periodic updating. With environmental safeguards in place due to our ordinances, we provide a peaceful and better way of life.
Sibik.......
Why Iím running: I am very much concerned about the proposed annexation of a large portion of the township and the impact it will have on our community. I am opposed to the annexation.
I am very interested in our community and its future. I want to assist in the organization and planning for orderly growth. I am concerned that there is not the vision required in preparing our community for future growth. I want to ensure our environment and natural resources are protected, while at the same time provide opportunities for with a well thought out plan for growth.
I believe it is important to communicate with residents to determine what their thoughts are on major issues prior to making changes. I will work to assure township business is conducted in a professional manner, and all citizens are treated fairly and with respect.
We all benefit from living in a community; I believe it is important to give something back in a commitment of time and involvement.
My experience: ïServed four years, as a manager on the Comfort Lake/ Forest Lake Watershed District.
ïPast member of Wyoming Township Community Hall Building Committee.
ïServed on the Chisago County Waste Water Management task force
ïPast member of the North Branch Park Board, five years.
ïPast member of a citizen committee in planning North Branch High School.
ïSuccessfully operated my own businesses, served as a senior executive vice president of sales and
marketing for a major worldwide food company. Executive positions with Target Stores for 22 years.
ïResident of Wyoming Township since 1987.
Key issues: The potential for rezoning of property along highway eight to commercial development. I believe further study is required prior to any rezoning to determine the impact to our natural resources, infrastructure and safety.
Existing ordinances need to be uniformly applied and enforced across the township.
Communication with residents is severely lacking; we need to reach out more frequently and get their involvement earlier, on major issues. I plan to meet and communicate on a regular basis with local organizations and individuals to obtain feedback.
Comprehensive plan: I am pleased to see the board has acted upon the citizen request to obtain professional assistance in developing a comprehensive plan. The process has been in progress for more than four years. By not completing it in a reasonable time frame this may have an impact on the outcome of the annexation. This was brought before the board well over a year ago with no support by the previous I believe there still is a lot of work that is required before any commercial rezoning is considered.
Townís rural flavor: There are a number of communities that have faced similar problems; we can use their research, as a basis to learn what has worked for them and what has not.
We can still have development, but we need to understand what the potential impact will be; this information must be shared with all of the stakeholders before finalizing on a planned development such as under consideration. There are minimal requirements by law to put together a plan, than there is the rule of common sense, this has to be applied in the process.
Town hall needs: There was a proposal in a previous referendum that was voted down and this would again need to be reviewed. A possible combination business offices and community center might be an option. The cost could possibly offset some of the expense; this requires study and involvement of our citizens.
What is right: The institution of emergency equipment is a benefit, and the control in managing the financial budget has been a plus. The services have been adequate, but need to be reviewed in the context of the planning process.
I appreciate the rural aspects of the community and the respect each member of has for each other.
Recently there has been a sense of the community coming together for a common cause, annexation. What about the previous history? It was run under the ìgood O boy systemî protecting special interests.
This is starting to change and needs to continue having more citizen involvement.
Eiffler........
I was born and raised in Wyoming Township. I have been a township resident for more than 35 years.
I graduated from Chisago Lakes High School and joined the Army after high school. I spent more than 10‡ years as an active duty infantryman. My military duties took me all over the world. I am a veteran of almost every United States military operation of the 1990s.
Currently I am a college junior at St. Johnís University where I am a history/pre-medicine student.
I have always been interested in the happenings and the future of Wyoming Township. I have served on various volunteer committees such as the citizens advisory committee working on the comprehensive plan and the committee that reviewed the joint legislation concerning Chisago Cityís business park proposal.
I have also served as town board supervisor and I am currently a member of the emergency management committee.
I believe the biggest issue facing the township is Chisago Cityís annexation attempt. I am strongly against Chisago City gaining one inch of township property without the property owners consent.
I believe the act of imposing political ideology upon others is an act of evil. Therefore, what Chisago City is attempting is nothing less than evil. As a veteran I am very familiar with the U.S. Constitution and have studied the authors of that document. I am convinced they would roll over in their graves if they knew this was happening in the country they founded.
I think the current state statute that allows cities to forcibly annex township land is unconstitutional and I support testing it in federal court.
However, annexation is not the only issue the township is facing. We still need to finalize the update to our comprehensive plan and ordinances as well as improve the quality of our water and other natural resources.
As township supervisor, I will do everything within my power to insure these issues are resolved in a manner that represents the values of the township. I strongly encourage all township residents to contact me with their questions and concerns.
Berglund........
My wife and I have lived in Wyoming Township four years. We have three children and one grandchild. I have a graduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota and worked for Bell Laboratories and General Dynamics for 28 years.
I am currently product realization and quality assurance manager for MSP Corporation, Shoreview. I serve as treasurer of the Comfort Lake Association and a member of the Lindstrom Methodist Church.
It was my privilege to serve as Wyoming Township supervisor the past year, during which time I was the town board liaison to the planning commission. In my previous township, I served as sewer commissioner. During the past year I attended training sessions for new township supervisors and planning and zoning.
I believe the two most important issues facing Wyoming Township this year are the annexation threat from Chisago City and revising the comprehensive plan.
I am 100 percent against the annexation of any portion of Wyoming Township by Chisago City without approval of the people living in the affected area. Current feedback indicates the vast majority of people living in the township are against annexation.
My personal objections are:
ïCurrent process is unfair without approval by the affected people. Five Chisago City Council members should not decide what is best for thousands of township citizens.
ïReal estate taxes for Wyoming Township will increase significantly with limited or no additional services.
ïI donít want to see US-8 become one long strip mall.
ïI want the residential areas of Wyoming Township to remain a mixture of 1-5 acre lots. Chisago City will push for two to four houses per acre to improve the economics of providing sewer and water.
Iím afraid that if this annexation goes through, it will have a significant, long-term negative impact on our environment (lakes, rivers, wetland, wildlife).
I believe it is critical for Wyoming Township to have a good, updated comprehensive plan in place to allow us to effectively manage our future development and growth. I have pushed the town board to provide funding to work with the Center for Rural Design at the University of Minnesota to accomplish this goal, and Iím glad significant progress is being made.
A good comprehensive plan will avoid a lot of controversy and allow the planning commission and town board to make zoning decisions based upon a plan, rather than random applications.
My vision for Wyoming Township is that it will become primarily a residential community with nice homes on a mixture of large lots ranging from one to five acres (or larger).
Commercial development should be minimized and restricted to areas that will not adversely affect the people living next door. I believe we should work hard to not only preserve our environment, but to improve it.
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