Press Publications 4779 Bloom Avenue White Bear Lake, MN 55110
PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 9 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED CIRCLE PINES, MN
7111 21st Avenue N • Centerville, MN
651.762.9440 Equal Housing Lender
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2017
MidWestOne.com
VOL. 36 NO. 5 www.presspubs.com $1.00
WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR? Students express gratitude PAGE 2
City legal fee sparks question of political motives BY SHANNON GRANHOLM EDITOR
LINO LAKES — An $800 invoice sparked a passionate debate with accusations of wrongdoing at the City Council meeting Monday, Nov. 13. Councilman Bill Kusterman inquired about the bill from the city's attorney, Ratwik, Rosak & Maloney PA. Although the full invoice was for $3,434, Kusterman was particularly interested in where an $800 charge came from. City Administrator Jeff Karl-
son explained it was a result of conversations he had with Mayor Jeff Reinert regarding a potential conflict of interest on the part of a candidate for City Council (Brad Robinson) who works for the city's engineer, WSB & Associates. “Mayor Reinert and I had a couple of discussions about that, so I thought it was an important enough issue so I did call City Attorney Joe Langel and asked for him to give us an opinion,” he said. “I forwarded it to Mr. Reinert. I don't know if I sent it to the entire council.”
Kusterman said, “Why would we believe that this is necessary for the operation of Lino Lakes? I've worked in public accounting for 26 years; this is not an ordinary and necessary expense. It has nothing to do with the city of Lino Lakes and it has everything to do with an effort to look deeper into whether or not a certain candidate could run.” He added, “Would we and did we run conflicts of interest checks on all of our candidates this year? Should we have done that? Is that a reasonable, ordinary
and necessary expense?” Reinert explained that during the conversation with Karlson several topics came up, including the election and whether or not it was a conflict of interest for one of the candidates to be employed with the city's current engineering firm. “I asked the city administrator if he knew the answer; he did not, but said he was going to be talking to Joe on a couple other things and that he would ask him. I said 'Sure, if you find something out let
me know.' I did not direct him to spend money,” Reinert said. “Karlson did want to engage our attorney and get a more complete answer. I wasn't involved with that decision. He decided to do that and that's fine. I am a little surprised by the price, I am not too happy it was $800.” After some talking over each other, Kusterman said Reinert should have consulted with his fellow council members on the topic before the conversation SEE LEGAL FEE, PAGE 9
City engineer turns administrator BY SHANNON GRANHOLM EDITOR
SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
Volunteers hope to make an impact on 12 million children globally Paul Miehlke and his 3-year-old daughter Helena, of Shoreview, were one of the many families that dropped off shoeboxes full of gifts at Rice Creek Covenant Church in Lino Lakes last week during Operation Christmas Child National Collection Week. The two dropped off six boxes full of items including whistles, balls, pencils, toothbrushes and activity books. See story and photos on page 12.
10-2E0
FRE ES
AllCityAgency.com
QUOT
NEW ROOF DISCOUNTS!
$
TM
• Quality Driven • Value Priced • Superior Service
TM
TM
We don’t sell insurance — We help you buy it!
NEWS 651-407-1227 quadnews@presspubs.com
SEE CITY ENGINEER, PAGE 9
2 OFF Any Pizza Not valid with any other offers Expires 12/31/17
Highest Quality Ingredients
TH !VE s #ENTERVILLE
651-653-1077
(651) 407-1094
651.484.1213 50+ Insurance Companies
CENTERVILLE — City Engineer Mark Statz believes now, more than ever, is the right time for him to transition roles with the city, and the City Council agrees. “I think it's the right time in my career. I'm 41 years old, which is kind of a transition point in your career when you start to become more involved in management duties. At my firm, I have been managing people for a few years now,” Statz explained. “At this point in my career I am pretty comfortable speaking in front of groups, giving presentations and running meetings. I have sat through 600 city council meetings in my career and I know how they work.” Statz, of Lakeland, officially accepted the offer early last week and will begin the new role on Nov. 27. A total of 40 candidates applied for the position, which was left vacant after former City Administrator Mike Ericson left the position Aug. 23. Former administrator Dallas Larson was hired as the city's interim city administrator. The council interviewed the top four candidates, which included Statz, Teresa Bender, Centerville's city clerk, Kevin Kress of North St. Paul and Robin Leslie of Wells at a special meeting Oct. 30. Statz, who is originally from Onamia, Minnesota, obtained his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Minnesota. He started as an intern with Bonestroo (acquired by Stantec in 2011) for two years and was hired full time in 1999. Statz has been Centerville's city engineer since 2007. He explained he was very happy with his job and was by no means searching for a new one when
7095 20th Ave S • Centerville, MN TM
Discover Big Discounts!
ADVERTISING 651-407-1200 marketing@presspubs.com
CIRCULATION 651-407-1234 ppcirc@presspubs.com
CLASSIFIED 651-407-1250 classified@presspubs.com
PRODUCTION 651-407-1239 ppcomp@presspubs.com