Tag: <span>Rice County Board of Commissioners</span>

County Elections&Politics

I got an email last week from Stephanie Henriksen, alerting me that MotokazieLand (see my April blog post, MotokazieLand Recreation Park: sounds like a good development) has a new proposed location in Cannon City Township, south of County 9 (150th Street East) approximately mid-way between Hwy 3 and I35 (Dennis Shaw property at 1267 150th St. East).

I spoke to Lee Theis, president and owner of Motokazie, a motorsports race promotion and track-building company. His application fits the county zoning so this will be a two-step process, ie, Rice County Planning Commission, then the Board. Since it’s not a request for a zoning change like last time, a simple majority of the Board (3 of 5) is required for approval. All the environmental studies are being done now. He expects it to go before the Planning Commission early in 2011. See the news page on his website for more.

MotokakieLand - Cannon City Township map  MotokakieLand - Cannon City Township map 2  MotokakieLand - CUP application

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Northfield Ward and Precinct Map Rice County Commissioner Districts
Filings for local public offices began last week. Open seats include three on the City Council (1st and 4th Wards, one at-large) and two on the Rice County Board (Districts 2 and 4).  It closes next Tuesday, June 1, at 5 pm. More info on the home page of the League of Women Voters of Northfield. See the Northfield Ward and Precinct Map (PDF) and the Rice County District Commissioners Map (PDF).

As Tracy reported on Friday, Councilor Rhonda Pownell has filed for her at-large seat and Councilor Jon Denison has filed for his Ward 4 seat. Suzie Nakasian has filed for Jim Pokorney’s Ward 1 seat. He’s decided to not run for re-election. Nathan Kuhlman has filed for Ward 4. Since then, Galen Malecha has filed for his District 2 county board seat, according to the Nfld News.

Two years ago, these were the people who filed for the 4 City Council positions:

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 Forsest Township Hall Lee Theis, president and owner of Motokazie, at Forsest Township Hall

MotokazieLand presentation at  Forsest Township Hall Lee Theis, president and owner of Motokazie
It was standing-room only at the Forest Township Hall in Millersburg last night. Lee Theis, president and owner of Motokazie, a motorsports race promotion and track-building company, made a presentation to area residents on the development of the MotokazieLand Recreation Park (PDF) in the highway commercial zone between I35 and Cty Rd 46 at Cty  Rd 1 in Rice County.

Theis needs approval from the Rice County Board of Commissioners because this kind of organized motor sports is only allowed in agricultural and urban reserve zoning districts.

I stood at the intersection of Cty Rd. 1 and I35 and took this 22-second video to capture the sound of the freeway noise, as noise from the two motocross tracks is the concern raised the most by residents.

Next up: a public hearing on May 6th, 7 pm, at the Rice County Government Services building in Faribault.

See the website, Rice County Residents for Motorized Recreation (RCRMR) for more info on the MotokazieLand proposal. Supporters are asked to sign the petition and join the discussion on the Facebook group.

The Faribault Daily News has a good pro and con discussion page titled: In their own words: The Motokazie debate.

Other media coverage to-date:

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