The group of citizens against the annexation of land near the J.

Wednesday, August 02, 2000

The group of citizens against the annexation of land near the J.C. Hormel Nature Center wasn’t taking any chances last week as the July 30 extended deadline for petition signatures approached. They needed 208 signatures to make the referendum reality, so they brought in more than 500.

Of that 500-plus, Merrilyn Moetsch counted 389 as valid signatures of registered voters.

There will be a referendum in November.

"We finished the count the same day (Thursday) they brought the last signatures in," the senior accountant for the city said. "They needed to know in case they had to collect any more before the deadline."

Bringing more than double the needed number of signatures may seem paranoid, but the citizen group had been experiencing a signature rejection rate between 30 and 40 percent.

Spokesperson for the group, Dr. Mark Reeve, finally figured out the problem when County Auditor Woody Vereide told him the state throws a person off the registered voter list after he or she hasn’t voted for four years.

"I just wish we’d known all along that four years was the magic number," petition organizer Mike Pratt said afterwards. "Still, getting signatures wasn’t a problem. The number of invalid ones just meant a few of us had to go out collecting an extra evening."

The group oppose the annexation of the 55 acres of land west of the nature center because developers want to make the land – now farmland with a serious erosion problem – into a housing development. Those opposing the annexation would like to see the land turned into a natural habitat for wildlife, in keeping with the nature center across the street.

The Austin City Council approved the annexation by ordinance at its May 15 meeting, but the intent to petition for referendum effectively put that ordinance on hold.

"We were really pleased with the people’s support," Pratt said. "Now we’re looking for the support when the time comes to vote. It’s really time to play ball now – the other side has a lot more political experience than we have."

Pratt was referring to the fact that two of the key players for development company Greater Minnesota Affordable Housing are David Wellstone and Richard Kahn. Wellstone’s father is the U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone and both David Wellstone and Kahn have a history of political involvement.

"We expected a referendum," Wellstone said this morning, "but judging by the amount of time it took them to get 1,000 signatures I think they’re losing their momentum. We haven’t had a chance to get what we consider the facts are out to the people, but I think the majority of people will support our housing development once they are aware of those … We expect to be building next spring."

Not if the referendum group has their way. Now that they’ve succeeded in getting the required number of voter signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot, the referendum group will be changing gears and figuring out how to educate the voting public and how get people to the voting box on their behalf.

The group will hold an organizational meeting on Sept. 12 at the nature center.