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Vol. 23 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2009 Newsletter of the City of Otsego' N a Non-stop activities and fun
k�. : planned for 8th annual
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More cuts to city budget A fun filled day for the whole family will be coming at the upcoming Otsego
By Mike Robertson,Otsego City Administrator Festival Saturday,Sept.19 from 10 AM to 5 PM at Otsego Prairie Park
The city has received word that the initial directly behind City Hall.There is no charge for admittance or parking.
The Festival volunteers have made sure that this is a day the whole
proposed cut in State aid for 2009, expected to
be$184,000,has been reduced to$124,000. family can enjoy. Families come from all over the area.
be be pro-achasive,the City Council had decided The day starts with the Wright County Sheriff mounted patrol's flag raising
Toin March not to wait for the State to finalize its ceremony at 10 AM.The horses will stay for awhile so that the public can pet
mmediate budget cut the horses and meet with the riders.One of the new attractions this year is the
budget and authorized an i
of$300,000. This was done to establish a University of Minnesota Raptor Center show.They will be bringing their large
financial cushion if the recession gets worse. birds for you to view and give you some information about their program with
In a past newsletter we reviewed cuts that were the birds.The popular Petting Zoo will be there and food vendors will be
bringing their variety of delicious foods.
made to city staffing and Clean Up Month.
This month we will review some of the Many of the other popular attractions will be back again this year,like
the pony rides,horse drawn rides,the large inflatables,Lowes workshop for
additional budget reductions.
Gravel the children,Teensy the Clown, robots that ride around and talk to you,
The city has a gravel budget in order to fix Anita Isenor's dancers, Rogers High School band and much more.
bad spots in gravel roads(the equivalent of The bands Everett Smithson and Rize will perform two sets each.The
potholes in blacktop roads)and toperiodicallyOtsego Rod&Custom car club will be hosting the car show this year.
pdate gravel cktop ith fresh gravel Beautiful trophies,lots of door prizes and great food!Come and see the cars
equivalent of seal coating blacktop roads). The and stay for the fun.Anyone interested in bringing their cars are welcome.
2009 budget was$30,000 and$5,000 was The Otsego Royalty for the 2009-2010 year will be crowned at the
Festival. Fire trucks from the surrounding area will be there as well as
retained to repair any bad spots in gravel roads.
The city decided to forgo any updates to gravel many more attractions for you to see that day.
roads in 2009 for a savings of$25,000. If you would like to be part of the Otsego Festival let us know. The
Financial Audit Festival is a great place for the businesses, churches, and organizations to
meet and greet the area residents. The deadline for obtaining a space is
The city is required under State law to
have an independent audit of its financial August 8th. There is a lig!:': ,,.It x "i s
limited amount of space f?< O' �.
records done yearly. The city was able to ,, r ov
negotiate a reduction in the planned cost of With electricity. �.
the audit for a savingsof$1,400. For information or a . , 1 ;4* .
City Hall Cleaning form for a space at the `� . . _ � gl
Festival, please call Rose '. "e v� ' '
City Hall was budgeted to be cleaned twice a Cassady @ 763-441- ' 4
week. With the reduction in the number of 8769. You can check out
employees and the need for savings wherever , z
the events on the Otsego ,-N
we could find them,the City Council reduced Festival website<Otsego a; » .4•,- .-- _ -
the cleaning contract to once a week for a Festival.org>and find out --,.,, •-•VP',. itt'of$6,630. So if City Hall seems a littlehow to vo •lunteer.. N `, `
dirty when you visit us at the end of the week,
that's why. 2008-9 Otsego Royalty Myranda Hinnenkamp,
Timmy Oreskovich,and Sydney Feehan,at the
Rockin'Rogers parade.
Enjoy Otsego's parks and trails ;1 1/1 ) " ,' 1,"" l
It just seems like summer has just begun and now we are heading into fall. Where
does the time go? This fall we of course have the 8`h Annual Otsego Festival on NOTES September 19 from 10 AM to 5 PM at Prairie Park. I do hope you come out and
enjoy the day. The Festival Committee has been hard at work getting it ready for from the
people of all ages to enjoy. MAYOR
Fall also means that our children are heading back to school. Please watch for
children walking or waiting for the bus and obey traffic laws by coming to a
complete stop for buses displaying flashing red lights with an extended stop arm.
Also related to the safety of children in Otsego, the City Council voted by Mayor Jessica Stockamp
unanimously to put in place an ordinance regulating where persons convicted of first k;,.,_
or second degree sexual assault or other sexual offense involving a minor may live
within the city. The ordinance prohibits these sexual offenders from living within 2,000 feet of public parks, schools, day
cares and churches where children may be expected be present. The city will work with the Wright County Sheriff and
probation officers to enforce these regulations as the city is not notified by law enforcement as to where sexual offenders
reside.
I also want to encourage parents to talk with their children about what to do if approached by someone they aren't
familiar with. The Otsego Police Commission has established a McGruff House program that provides children a safe
place to go if they are threatened. Information regarding the McGruff House program and a map of McGruff Houses in
Otsego is available on the Police Commission page on the city's website. wv
Car club volunteers
ADOPT _
�1spruce up Quaday Ave.
w �" This spring the Otsego Rod and Custom
oTSo Club was the first group to do a clean up in
ROCS & CUSTOM ',`
' the city's Adopt-a-Street program,picking up
t d
�,� litter on Quaday Ave.from County Road 42
' ' ".,',.`.,••, •,'. t to County Road 37.
,u "r a F n z . 'F
•
4,044w4 , �'"��� �.. 2 ;� � , s ��,`� ��"'�
*- . • )- . The Adopt-A-Street and Pride in Our
.w . � Parks programs are both partnership
-, , t ,, E, programs between the city and volunteer
„ , �� ... 4� r residents,community groups and businesses
rte ; f �' I =K 1 , to help keep Otsego's parks and streets
S. � � # �, r �;. ,r �,, 4," clean,safe and more attractive. Participants
� " g �. . 1� ;V:11,'';--f commit to a one year program of activities
;' ', A� .. pPbyCity 9
that is approved the Council. Otsego
i.4'4,_` � s Public Works staff provides basic oversight,
%:.•,',1,'.47. „42.';fi. /'ill% ,' fir , /-...,,,',,, ' .•4,0,, 1",A:4it'Sa,t14 ''''..i /i ' 4 , . 1;4',.i.'-ik:i . 47i:14. tools and materials as may be needed. More
g'q ', " information and applications are available on
the city's website.w1/4i
City news �. Be cautiousAleitlep
around school
'm 4. issued on �_r
:,:41,;,;,,,,,,A, z " (0801,1)6;7;., buses
Twitter �� ( .
• b c ►. Soon summer will
` '' In an effort to expand "v " come to an official end •
communication with Otsego residents and businesses, the _ € and we will once again be
city has established an account on Twitter. Information sharing the roads with school buses. Now is a good time to
regarding upcoming meetings, important news review school bus safety with your children as well as
announcements and community events will be issued by yourself. When in a vehicle behind a bus,remember the
the City Clerk on a regular basis. flashing stop sign means only one thing. Stop! Parents
Sign up to follow"cityofotsego"at remind your kids of basic bus safety rules such as staying
<www.Twitter.com>. w., in the driver's sight when crossing in front of the bus, and
staying in their seats when the bus is moving. .,..ti
s
Wright County's .��� y
. istoricai
grasshopper plague ::;: :
By Jacquie Rognli J g g hs
"On-the 19th of August, 1856, many of the people of potatoes and corn,
Wright County were outside looking up at strange dark leaving the settlers with little to live on. They also jumped
clouds moving across the sky. About noon the clouds were into all the water holes and when we got water for house
seen moving to the southeast and many wondered what use, we also got legs, legs wings and other parts...[We]
they were and why they were so low. About 2 o'clock they had never heard of germs or microbes, consequently they
stopped wondering. The clouds came down and resolved did us no harm"4
themselves into thousands of grasshoppers. By nightfall, "Where they went in the fall of 1856 no one knew,
the ground was covered with them and every step a settler whether they sailed away or went into the earth was not
took left a trail of crushed insects. Mothers took their known, but they disappeared all at once... [W]hen later it
children indoors and closed windows and shutters. The was discovered that the pests had laid their eggs in the
grasshoppers slipped in through cracks if they could and millions, in fact the ground was full of them, it was evident
were killed in the cabins with brooms"1 that they had come to stay, or at least for another year's
"[B]y the next day at noon they were busily at work work. So all through the winter of 1856-'57, the all
eating every green thing. They made quick work of the small absorbing topic of conversation was the grasshoppers and
patches of corn and potatoes. In Otsego and Monticello,about what they would do. In the spring of 1857 they began to
the only places where there was any wheat, oats,or rye raised, hatch and the ground was alive with them. ..The little
the grasshoppers trimmed off every green leaf and then cut off hoppers began to eat, and nearly everything, including the
the small stems on the oats heads and left the bare stock grass in the meadows, was eaten as fast as it grew. About
standing,and the oats all on the ground."2 the first of June they began to move to the southeast by
In Otsego, "quite large clearing had been made in the hopping, and in a few days they began to fly in the same
timber,and farms opened and cultivated on the prairie as early direction. Crow river was full of the little hoppers, but they
as 1856.Wheat,rye, oats,barley and corn were cultivated in did not stop at rivers and creeks, but kept on their way, and
large quantities for that early date, so that the advent of the by the first of July the whole greedy horde had left.'
grasshoppers on the 20th of August 1856, was of more "Of course the grasshopper plague quite discouraged many
consequence to Otsego than some other towns."3The rye was farmers [in Otsego],and some sold out and left the town; and
nearly ripe, so it was too hard for the hoppers to eat as well many left their claims without selling.Not only was the
as the Rio Grande wheat variety, but they ate the leaves grasshopper plague a serious loss in general wealth and
and stalks and the grain fell to the ground. prosperity,but it retarded settlement of the town for several
In her autobiography, Edson Dean Washburn, she tellsyears."3v.r..r
of moving to Otsego in 1856. "Our new log house was not 'Myers, Mouraine Baker 101 Best Stories of Wright County Minnesota
yet built when we arrived; father was living in a shanty .Wright Way Graphics and KRWC 1982.p.60
with a bark roof. Our goods were delayed on the way and 2Famham, D.R. History of Wright County.Delano Eagle 1880.p.31
we did not get them until July 1857. That fall of 1856, vast 31bid.p.354-5.
`Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission.Otsego in the Beginning
hordes of grasshoppers settled down on the little patches of
1852-1880.Otsego HPC 1996. p. 12.
Hospital District decision delayed
The city of Otsego has petitioned for detachment District CEO Marshall Smith. There were also comments
(removal)from the Monticello-Big Lake Community made by Otsego residents,other residents of the Hospital
Hospital District(MBLCHD)that was established in 1961. District and individual MBLCHD Directors. After
State law provides for the establishment of hospital discussion,the Board of Directors voted to delay action on the
districts to provide for medical services in areas where petition for 90 days to allow an opportunity for the Hospital
there are no or inadequate facilities. A city is not required District and city of Otsego to gather additional information as
to be part of a hospital district and Otsego would not to potential opportunities to resolve the city's issues through
become part of another hospital district if the petition is means other than detachment.
approved. Otsego residents would still have the choice of More information regarding the city's petition for
using MBLCHD services but would no longer pay a detachment from the MBLCHD is available at the city
Hospital District tax as part of their yearly property taxes. website. This information includes the city's petition,
The Monticello Big Lake Community Hospital District reports prepared by city staff and MBLCHD staff regarding
held a public hearing on June 11, 2009 to consider the petition the detachment issue, the city's presentation to the Board
by the city of Otsego for detachment(removal)from the of Directors, minutes of the public hearing and related
Hospital District. The public hearing included presentations newspaper articles. .
by Mayor Jessica Stockamp, Otsego city staff and Hospital
City regulations in place No Discharge of firearms zones
for swimming pools are defined
Otsego regulates all in ., .,., 41
,
For those who like to take to the field in the early fall,
ground and above ground i4 " remember the cityOtsego has defined zones where
(temporary and
� � � �� of
discharge of firearms is prohibited in the city limits. To
permanent) swimming
pools designed for a view a detailed map identifying these zones go to the city
website and search for hunting. .4.,
depth of 30 inches or
more by the Building Code No discharge
and/or Zoning Ordinance which :P9-�:� �`` ., '.
4:1f,•... , � ;" A %• , ,i E of firearms in
requires: •` , x
�" gray areas of
• A fence at the perimeter of thepool or in which °' 1, ;