ROCHESTER — For the first time in 18 years, Rochester Township Board Member Brian Mueller is being challenged for seat 2 on the board.
In the Township Board election Tuesday , Mueller is being challenged by two candidates.
Controversy over a proposed development at the site of a great blue heron nest colony has sparked interest in what is usually a quiet political office.
“I always ran unopposed,” he said. “So this is new territory.”
The Township board unanimously approved a general development plan for a 10-lot development on wooded land west of Rochester owned by Steve Connelly. International Properties LLC. The lot contains a nest colony, known as a rookery, of dozens of great blue heron nests.
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Nathan Clarke, who teaches accounting and finance at Rochester Community and Technical College, said the Township Board's handling of the proposed development there is one of the reasons he is running for the seat.
“I’m passionately in favor of saving the rookery,” Clarke said.
Clarke said he was baffled by the Township Board’s decision not to require an Environmental Impact Statement on the site.
“I don’t understand why they did that,” Clarke said. “It seems to me, more information could only help.”
Clarke has lived in the Rochester area more than 20 years and in Rochester Township for more than two years. He said he would also likely oppose a potential sand mine south of Salem Road west of Old Valley Road. Disruptions to traffic on Salem Road would be a concern once it was operational, he said.
Clarke said the board appeared to put developers’ interests ahead of the interests of people who live in Rochester Township.
“I’m not against development,” Clarke said. “It just seems whatever a developer wants, the board supports and people find out about it later.”
Nathan Smischney said the rookery is less a reason he decided to run for Mueller’s seat but more a symptom. He said he only learned of the development through word of mouth and then later news coverage.
“Transparency is a big problem,” Smischney said. “You really have to dig for things now to find an update on what’s happening.”
The cost of living, specifically cost of housing, and indiscriminate sprawl are the other main issues that motivated Smischney to run, he said.
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Smischney said he would like to see more housing built to serve different tiers of income which could alleviate housing cost pressures.
“I’m not saying growth shouldn’t happen,” Smischney said. “But the balance has shifted to just building more and more houses without a thought to open spaces.”
Smischney is a native of northern Minnesota and the open spaces around Rochester were an appeal to him when he moved to the area about 10 years ago to accept a position in anesthesiology and perioperative medicine at Mayo Clinic.
“I’ve always gravitated toward smaller, collegial communities,” he said.
Smischney added support for law enforcement is also one of his platforms.
“I think valuing our men and women in blue is important,” he said.
Mueller said he understands that development might motivate his challengers, but added that directing development is a small part of the office.
“Planning and zoning is something we’re able to do, but it’s not our main function,” he said.
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The main job is to maintain roads, right-of-way access to roads and township equipment to provide services such as snow removal.
“Development is not our number one priority,” he said, adding the rookery appears to be a “hot button topic” motivating the challengers.
Mueller said criticisms that the township board doesn’t act with transparency isn’t accurate. He said the problem is likely that people aren’t paying attention to policy decisions until it’s too late.
“There are opportunities, there are mailings sent out, hearings,” he said. “It’s usually after the fact you get the NIMBYs.”
Mueller said the board has been responsive to the concerns about the rookery.
“We’ve been getting a lot of public input,” he said. “But at some point it gets redundant and you can’t just let it go on and on.”
Mueller said the township declined to require an EIS on the rookery site because neither the state Department of Natural Resources nor the Olmsted County Planning and Zoning Board required one.
A group advocating for preserving the rookery is appealing that decision with the Minnesota Court of Appeals.
Absentee ballots can be cast Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon at the township Town Hall building, 4111 11th Ave. SW. Polls for in-person voting at town hall will be open Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
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Rookery issue makes township board seat a crowded race - Rochester Post Bulletin
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