20/20 Cold Spring Vision Team

In preparation for the upcoming Cold Spring Community Visioning Session, the 20/20 Vision Team has been recapping projects that emerged after the first visioning session in June 2004. This week, the Design Standards action team is highlighted.
The formation of the Design Standards team occurred as a result of the MN Design Team community visioning process in June 2004. Residents, who either attended the visioning session or were surveyed prior to the session, responded about the importance of design standards as an element they wished Cold Spring would adopt. In addition, many wished Cold Spring would retain a small-town feel with a pedestrian-friendly environment. In a nutshell, the traditional look of a downtown became an important goal for the team.
With this criteria, the design standards action team publicly solicited interested volunteers and proceeded ahead. John Frischmann chaired the group and his experience as an architect brought first-hand credibility. Team member Ann Harren also provided residential architectural experience, design insight, and landscape awareness. Team member and Stearns County historian, Steve Penick, brought a historical angle with insight into Cold Spring's past and how it could be incorporated into the design standards. The group met frequently and varied from five to nearly a dozen residents and business owners from the community, each bringing their experience to the table. Community business leaders were also invited to gain perspective on their concerns and to find common ground. It was a true community effort.
The City's leadership was present at nearly all meetings and brought the City's viewpoint. When it came time to formalize the group's recommendations, the City hired a professional consultant from Municipal Development Group to ensure the ordinance was practical by building on the experiences of other communities. The consultant worked with specifics such as zoning, common practices for MN cities, legal issues, possible public concerns, drafting the document, and other issues.
Even before this process began, City leaders were convinced the current zoning ordinance needed to be updated. So, the design standards team developed a series of zones (updating an outdated document that city staff stated was difficult to regulate due to its vagueness) and incorporated design standards for each. The downtown zone remained the most strict and outlying industrial zones were the most lenient. Design Standards included building materials, building height, landscaping, and architectural elements. The committee also attempted to form zones following existing business use and any new construction expected for these zones. As might be expected, some businesses did not fit into proposed new zones. While not a large number, it was hoped these businesses could be accommodated to continue their existing use while at the same time encouraging alternative locations within the city for new business coming into the community of that same type of use. Businesses not in conformity with the new standards would NOT be forced to make changes to their existing buildings until they do major remodeling or additions .
The design standards team attempted to balance business concerns such as remodeling structures, lighting, signage and good common sense. The standards attempted to be flexible and affordable, yet raising building quality. Enhancing/retaining property values was a major priority. An extraordinary amount of time was spent on this community initiative, especially when the 20/20 land use team, city planning commission, and city council became involved in developing the zoning/standards document.
After considerable time and review, a draft document went to the City Council for discussion at multiple public meetings. In consideration of feedback received during the public meetings, the draft document was revised and unanimously approved by the City planning commission and council in March of 2006. Next steps for the Design Standards team include the placement of welcome signs near entrances to the City.
Please don't miss the next opportunity to provide your input about the future of Cold Spring. Your participation in the upcoming community visioning on September 18 is essential. The event begins at 6:00 PM with a complimentary meal at the St. Boniface Parish Center. The visioning session immediately follows. No reservations are needed, other than contacting the Chamber office at 685-4186 if you need on-site childcare or transportation to the parish center. A Spanish translator will also be available and attendance door prizes will be awarded. Your input is important and sincerely welcomed.

Please mark the visioning session on your calendar - September 18 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the St. Boniface Parish Center - it will be time well spent.

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 11:04 AM 0 comments

As the Cold Spring community prepares for it's second community visioning session, 20/20 action teams have been hard at work. Since the first visioning session in June of 2004, a number of projects have been initiated and implemented by a dedicated group of volunteers. This week, a few highlights of the Tourism and Land Use action teams are being shared.
The Tourism action team partnered with the Cold Spring Chamber of Commerce and coordinated construction of cabinets to organize and display advertising brochures for local Chamber members. The attractive self-serve cabinets are readily accessible to residents and visitors and are located in the entry of the Chamber offices. The Tourism team also commissioned the writing of several historical informational pieces that were inserted in the Sauk River Chain of Lakes 2005 Area Guide. Many residents and resort visitors enjoyed reading about the history of the Sauk River, the Cold Spring Brewing Company, and the Theis family.
The 20/20 Land Use action team has also been busy since the last visioning session when over 150 community members gathered to help Cold Spring plan for the future growth of the City. One of the most popular desires expressed during the visioning session was for Cold Spring to grow in an orderly fashion and keep its small town atmosphere. The Land Use team met frequently and considered these suggestions by recommending revisions to Cold Spring residential, commercial and industrial zones. These zoning changes were discussed at several public meetings and later adopted by the City Planning Commission and the City Council. This new zoning plan allows businesses and residents to locate in areas that avoid unnecessary conflicts with traffic, noise and parking. The revised zones also allow for more affordable housing and a larger area for new businesses downtown. The population of Cold Spring is projected to double in size by the year 2020. In response to this expected growth, The Land Use team also acknowledged the need for greater collaboration with Wakefield Township and initiated joint meetings with the City and Township.
Now that the Land Use team has completed the rezoning phase and the other 20/20 action teams have completed several projects, we look forward to planning a new direction with the Cold Spring community. Your opportunity to provide this direction is available at the upcoming community visioning session at the St. Boniface Parish Center on September 18th. A complimentary meal will be served at 6:00 PM with the visioning session to immediately follow. All Cold Spring area residents and business owners are encouraged to participate. On-site childcare and transportation to the session can be arranged by calling the Chamber office at 685-4186. Spanish interpretation and door prizes will also be provided. This is a great opportunity to hear what local residents and businesses desire for the future of Cold Spring. Please join us on Monday, September 18 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM in the St. Boniface Parish Center.

WE NEED YOUR INPUT.

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 11:00 AM 0 comments

2020 Steering Committee Aug 8, 2006 MINUTES

Present: Duane Kuss, Ken Wendinger, Rita Hennen, Nadine Schnettler, Dave
Olson, Betty Johnson, Larry Lahr (City Admin)
Kari Tripp from IF
Absent: Kay Cook, Mark Gruelson,

The agenda was approved
The financial report: no action needed since there were no bills paid or income received. The City needs to show how much it spent and then we can request a $750 matching fund request from IF for the Rain Gardens project.

Kay submitted the needed info for the first grant and is working on info that is needed for the second grant. The City needs to give her a copy of their expenses so we can give matching grant money to the City.

Ken was asked to meet with Kay and Lahr to determine how much money the City spent and for which our grant money could be used. (Since these two items cover the same territory, Ken will ask that Duane’s mtg cover these questions or Ken will met with Kay, Duane and Larry the same day to avoid duplication)

Presentations have been made to many businesses and organizations on what 2020 has done, what our future projects will be and to ask for their financial support. Rita will draft a letter to those entities requesting specific amounts of money for past or future 2020 projects. It will be signed by our Committee.

We need to do a re-visoning session to get new goals, new people involved so Olson, Hennen, Schmettler, Wendinger will meet Wed. Aug 9, 1 PM to plan this event. B Johnson is part of the committee but can’t make this mtg.

Respectfully submitted

Ken Wendinger

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 10:44 AM 0 comments

2020 Minutes July 11, 2006

Minutes of the June meeting were not sent so they will be approved at the next mtg.

The revised treasurer’s report was approved. We paid 2 months for the website at $50 per month and in May we approved $260 to be paid to D. Kuss for past expenses for the website. Total monies paid, $360 leaving us a balance of $6.95 instead of $266.95.
We will get $500 from the City once the City gets a $5,000 trail grant from HCP which will happen as soon as our grant committee completes the final paperwork.

Rita, Dave and Ken presented a revised draft of the Articles of Incorporation for a
501 (3) c. Being a non-profit will help us access more grant money than if we weren’t. At the same time it will not hinder us from apply for grants through the City. We will approve the draft after a these questions are resolved.
1. Should the 2020 name be changed or stay the same?
2. What is our purpose? We need a Mission Statement.
3. What will be our official address?
(Come with suggestions to these items at our next meeting)

Our By Laws will be discussed at our next meeting.

The Rain Gardens which we promoted has become a reality and they look great. They will effectively protect the Sauk River from pollutants and be a model for other developments. Thanks Duane, for showing us a video presentation of the planting.

Colleen Woods will not be joining our Steering Committee. We need to continue to recruit.

The comprehensive city road plan should begin to be discussed now by the City of Cold Spring and Wakefield Township and Stearns County because the City 2007 budget will be finalized in Sept. 2006. We need money to pay for consultation expenses. Ken will draft a letter to the concerned parties and will re-assemble interested people on the Land Use Committee.

Respectfully submitted,

Ken Wendinger

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 12:13 PM 0 comments

Approved Aug 8th, 2006
Cold Spring 2020 Steering Committee Meeting
June 13, 2006

Attending: Duane Kuss, Rita Hennen, Betty Johnson, Ken Wendinger, Kay Cook

1. Agenda approved/Minutes approved.
2. Treasurer’s report – Nadine and Kay working on final report to IF.
3. Steering Committee issues
A 20 media presentations: waiting for fall start ups
• Need to review sample letter to businesses
• Faith in Action and Betty applauded for carrying forward diversity issues. The Mayor, Chief of Police, and fire have had letters translated, and were given to each new resident at meeting after Mass. Forty people asked questions. This went over very well. Duane gets into the community via digilog. Betty suggested more interaction with the schools.

B 2020 Booth at Hometown Pride Days
• Of the 75 responses Duane received from his letter of inquiry all were negative.
• It was suggested that perhaps brochures and chamber information could be at the pie stand.

C 2020 Communications – the buck stops here
• Kay said that she would be willing to spearhead tracking of grants.
• We need job description for Steering Committee member, task force members
• Two people called Rita wanting to get involved. Rita will contact Colleen and Duane will contact Mel
• All steering committee members should bring 3 names of potential committee members to the next meeting. Duane will send email to all Steering Committee members to bring 3 names.

D Articles of Incorporation
• Rita, Ken, Dave and Duane will review Kay’s draft. Timing: approval of final draft at August meeting.

E Avon Hills Initiative request
• Rita motioned to table request to support funds; Ken seconded; motion carried.

F Assumption Home Trail Project
• Trails are going forward. Duane was asked to set in on a meeting discussing trail system around Assumption Campus. Is set to tie into trail around high school.

4. Committee updates
A Arts & Culture –
• Mark has no time.
• Rita says Community band will play at Hometown Pride days
• Ken will talk to Mark and Duane will talk to Scott about participation

B Land Use
• Ken is waiting for word from Larry
• Mike worked with townships; county has no funding
• Ken will try transportation issue as a way to bring township and city together
• Kay said she would try to use the Wellhead Protection opening

C Design Standards
• Larry talked about the triangle entrance to town from the east. There will be a sign on the property, GLC is designing but Keiss owns the land.

D Natural Resources
• Lois L is working on the rain gardens
• SRWD put in $25,000 and $1,781 from SWCD
• There is a meeting with Kraemer Excavating and Greg this pm looking at planting the last week in June.

E Social Action
• Adult Mental Health Services has developed resources = Cold Spring Behavioral health Clinic. Betty will bring brochures.
• They will be meeting this week. Some volunteer hours have been compiled. Assumption is taking the lead as county leader has resigned.
• Will be meeting today to estimate cost of Assumption trail; how will it be raised; who provides maintenance, etc. They have talked with school about loop inclusion. Tim, Jan and Tony are spearheading at Assumption for Wellness w/Senior Center also.
• Anticipate about $60,000 plus maintenance
• They are looking for grant sources based on intergenerational status
• Need engineering costs and Don Hickman from IF said they might be able to help with that.

F Tourism
• The Chamber is putting together new brochure
• They are looking at welcoming new businesses and new residents once or twice a year.
• It was asked if 2020 could receive some dollars from the chamber perhaps proceeds from breakfast.

There was discussion about moving meeting to second Thursday of the month.

Kay is to contact Sharon Jenson regarding Granite Company involvement in the Assumption Trail.

Ken motioned adjournment; Rita seconded; motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 10:16.

Respectfully submitted,

Kay Cook

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 10:29 AM 0 comments

Watch Quicktime Video (9 min/56 mb)

This is a follow up to a story done last week called Rain Gardens @ Lions Park. Here you'll see first had the process involved in planting thousands of wild flowers and grasses into a Rain Garden to provide both the appearance and filtering properties desired. Lois Lieser, representing the City of Cold Spring, along with Greg Berg, with the Soil & Water Conservation District, describe the entire process of preparing for and working with volunteers to facilitate the planting.

This story includes many great shots of people from around the community who helped to plant the Rain Gardens over a two day period. 40-50 persons took part in the planting and did a fantastic job in the 80 degree plus scorching temperatures. There were smiles on everyone's faces and the word fun could be heard floating through the group throughout the day.

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 6:29 AM 0 comments

Quicktime video

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 6:23 AM 0 comments

“Living democracy” in this world still has a beating heart. This democracy does not need votes and partisan politics; it has collective strength in a vision. This vision is a dedication to the dignity, land, and people of a region. Community leaders in Cold Spring, Wakefield Township, and Stearns County dedicated themselves to meeting last on April 20th to this idea of “living democracy.”
Cooperation and innovative ideas will protect the future livelihoods of community and are vital to living democracy. The meeting on April 20th was directed to bring members of the community to discuss with Stearns Country road engineers about potential road corridors through Wakefield Township and Cold Spring. Cooperation was displayed when various members of the community looked beyond personal ideologies and more toward the needs of the region. The conversation was directed specifically at protecting citizens, road use, and area growth. Innovative ideas tried to imagine plans that incorporated all three.
The safety of citizens was in the forefront of the discussion. Living democracy means that citizens can meet their officials face-to-face and inform them of the insecurities of the region. The meeting addressed the issue of who would be affected by the development of roads. There was concern about traffic growth on roads that the public uses for pedestrian travel. Traffic can dangerous to the point where “sometimes you have to carry a duck to cross the road.” Public safety was evident at this meeting and city officials addressed potential ways to accommodate traffic and pedestrian movement.
The question of where development will take place is similar to the metaphor of the chicken or the egg. Will the development come first or the road? Officials and tax payers do not want to spend money on a road to nowhere. But information about where developments will occur is random. Developments and road creation are investments that look toward future growth. Living democracy meetings between various stakeholders help to promote honest communication about future growth. The solution is to ask public officials to regularly meet each other on informal occasions to try to work together to address the future. The meeting adjourned by recommending a meeting with landowners should be organized to study a corridor that will accommodate growth. This means the inclusion of the public is vital to future growth.
Living democracy needs active citizens to inform their public officials about the needs of the community. The meeting that took place on April 20th displayed the real power of inclusiveness. The conversations encouraged practical thinking and varying perspectives. As a member of Cold Spring, Wakefield Township and Stearns County everyone should understand that they are all experts to contributing to the solution.


Mike Scharenbroich
20/20 Spring 2006 Intern
St. John's University

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 11:05 AM 0 comments

The year 2003 was coming to a close and Cold Spring had been selected to host a community planning process by both the Minnesota Design Team and the Healthy Communities Partnership, a part of the Initiative Foundation. A core group of 10 Cold Spring area residents acted as a steering committee to get the program moving.

It is now well into 2006 and 7 of the original 10 steering committee members who started the process back in early 2004, are still working diligently to keep the 20/20 Vision moving forward in Cold Spring. "It's been a very rewarding journey for us," said co-chair Kay Cook. "There have been so many wonderful people who have contributed to the project over the past 3 years. It makes one proud to be a part of the community."

The community visioning process of 2004 prompted the creation of six 20/20 Action Teams. These included Arts & Culture, Design Standards, Land Use, Natural Resources, Tourism & Commerce and Social Action. These groups each established goals and action plans based on the priorities created during the visioning process.

Some of the accomplishments of the 20/20 Action Teams include: the establishment of a 30 member community band, new zoning and building design ordinances, the ROCORI Trail project, rain gardens in the new Lions Park, a local Faith In Action program, and an enhanced Chain of Lakes magazine that included stories about our historical and cultural past. Even the new Farmer's Market that will launch in June had its beginnings in the 20/20 Visioning process.

The 20/20 Steering committee is presently accepting applications for new members from the community. The group will soon be approving organizational by-laws which will include 3 year membership terms. If you have an interest in making a difference in the future of Cold Spring, please contact committee co-chair Duane Kuss at 685-8603 or visit the 20/20 website at www.2020coldspring.com for a copy of the membership application.

Membership Application (PDF)

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 8:40 AM 0 comments

COLD SPRING 20/20 ACTION TEAM
Steering Committee Meeting
April 11, 2006

Present: Duane Kuss, Mark Grelson, Betty Johnson, Carrie Tripp, Dave Olson, Ken Wendinger, Rita Hennen, Kay Cook and Mike Scharenbroich with Larry Lahr joining to answer some questions.

The minutes will be reviewed at the next meeting.

Treasurer's report was given by Ken Wendinger reporting a deficit of $97.62. This does not include the money from the Expo Breakfast or the grant from the city. Mark moved acceptance of the report, Rita seconded, motion carried. Nadine and Larry will work on the $500 city grant for 2020.

Status of presentations: Ken has scheduled some for May as has Dave. Mark made a presentation to the Girl Scout leaders and reported they are very interested in our group. Rita reported Homepride Lions are making it a line item in their budget for next year. Kay will be making a presentation to Peace Lutheran's POPs group at the April meeting. Kay will update listing and attach to minutes.

Breakfast recap: Duane thought it was a phenomenal success and commended Rita on her hard work. She reported around 300 attended. Next Expo is scheduled for March 17, 2007 with focus on health, home & garden, yamjam with speakers on the _ hour.

Intern Report:
• Mike has written info translated to Spanish to be used as a welcome packet which is much needed. There was discussion on student involvement in getting information into the Hispanic community. Betty reported on Sartell's packet being translated and she will keep in contact with them.
• Mike is working to set up meeting with City and Wakefield Township acting as a facilitator. He has talked with St Joe and Avon to get their take on working with cities and townships.
• Results of survey: Mike feels results of survey show we are on the right track and meeting with contacts from non-profits is a plus. We may act as a hub or mediator which other committees will move around. 2020 is being recognized as a leader in the area. There was lots of interest at the Expo.
• He will attend a meeting of the Hispanic Ministry Group in May which will be an information meeting and coffee all invited to come.
• His last day is May 21.

The Farmer's Market is off and running.

Carrie stressed the need for representation at the April 25 celebration of HCP by Initiative Foundation. Dave, Rita and Kay interested in attending. To actively access grant we need a vote with Larry present. We need to present bills to city who will send in. We must abide by the rules of the grants.

A fax from Nadine was received. She states that Mel Elmor is interested in our group but was unable to attend today. There is no final profit amount yet from the breakfast. She requested an article be put in the paper announcing open positions on the Steering Committee. Duane will provide article to Record. Rita made a motion to lay out board into 1, 2 and 3 year terms to get on a three year rotation which should be incorporated into article. Dave seconded, motion carried.

Rita requested consideration of bringing forward the bylaws for review and adoption. Kay will attach to the minutes.

Committee Reports:
Arts and Culture…Mark reported music studio at high school is in the works where recording sessions could be held. The film festival is not going over. They are pursuing a Marshall Field's grant for $5000. Historic ideas could probably be incorporated with the Sesquintennial; the library is doing their own thing. The band started practicing last month and plan to play at Homepride Days and other community events.

Land Use …Since this is the first part of the comprehensive plan the transportation plan has to happen. The west side of the ring road has a certain amount of agreement to move forward. Need to restart meetings between Wakefield Township and the City of Cold Spring. 2020 may take the position as a catalyst to bridge communications.

Design Standards…The zoning map is in final stages and will be going to the council then will be put out by the end of the month. Cold Spring Granite's property is zoned Industrial and they will get the city involved in the downtown sight. Their move is scheduled to be complete by 1-1-07.

Social Action…Betty reported that six from her group attended a workshop on volunteerism in March at West Central Interaction in Willmar - Creating Cultural Awareness. They have about 20 volunteers and Assumption Campus has received a few requests.

Tourism…The June Chamber Lunch will have Sen. Fischbach as guest speaker. The chamber is working on a new brochure; they may rent a tent for Hometown pride Days to display historic photos of businesses over the years. The Visitor's Center sign should be on the road this month. We have not been contacted for input on the COL guide. There is still a question as to the placement of the granite sign removed during the Highway 23 construction.

Natural Resources…Kay reported that there are monies being made available for parks and trails however the Glacier Trail did not receive funding from the state this year. She said there is some focused action regarding service and source water improvement.

Respectfully submitted,



Kay Cook

# posted by Duane Kuss @ 12:03 PM 0 comments