From the frying pan into the fire
Albertville tries a second time to save Otsego from itself
On Monday, the Albertville City Council met and discussed the request from Otsego to modify the contract to be two years instead of the one year that was offered. The discussion lasted a few minutes as the Council unanimously agreed that keeping it as a one year contract was consistent with prior years, and offered Otsego the opportunity to get a better handle on the needs of our community before 2026. It was pointed out, again, that mutual aid is not possible when one community has nothing to give.
This item will now appear on the Otsego City Council agenda on Tuesday.
Orono offers hope
I have followed the events unfolding in Orono for quite a while as that city has been carving a dangerous path in creating their own fire department and abandoning the fire contract they have with a neighboring city. In previous newsletters, I have warned that the Orono blueprint is being duplicated here, in Otsego. Unfortunately, Orono residents have had costs double from their initial estimates, and response times got worse... even with a duty crew.
Otsego had an opportunity to learn from the expensive mistakes of Orono and stop this reckless plan in its tracks. However, we now will have to follow that path and experience the steadily increasing costs and worsening response times on our own. Orono had to build a station, buy the equipment, hire fire fighters, and lose some court battles before they were smacked in the face with the consequences of their failures - and even then a majority of the council refused to accept the reality. Their timeline is several months ahead of ours, and we are undoubtedly barreling toward a similar fate.
Thankfully, there is some light at the end of that long and dark tunnel. The citizens of Orono fought back and secured a massive victory during the election: a new majority on the Council is very vocally opposed to the fire department plan. They not only campaigned on that issue, they vowed to re-institute the contract with their neighboring city, Long Lake, and work to rebuild that relationship. The mayor and two council members were replaced - by a wide margin.
Starting next year, the new super-majority will have a lot of work to do in order to repair those relationships, try to undo some of the damage, and figure out a better plan for fire service in their city. I, for one, cannot wait to see what that Council will be able to accomplish.
Murder in Otsego
Yesterday I spent the morning at the Wright County Courthouse to hear the start of the case of Alyssa Jade-Blythe Guedes, who is accused of the third-degree murder of Kaitlyn "Katie" Ann Northuis of Otsego on June 17th, 2023. At the time of the tragic death of Katie, she was just 18 years old, while Alyssa was only 19.
According to court documents, Katie drove Alyssa to Minneapolis because Alyssa had a dealer for M30 pills - a drug that has become more common and is a highly potent form of fentanyl. According to Alyssa, Katie stayed in the car while Alyssa purchased the drugs near Merwin Liquors. Alyssa did not receive any money from Katie for the drugs, according to her. They later smoked one of the pills together, and apparently Katie used one later by herself, which led to her death. On a memorial site for Katie, her family states that she believed she was given a Percocet pill, not fentanyl, and she had never used M30 pills before.
In Minnesota, 3rd degree murder is the unintentional killing of another, with reckless disregard for human life, engaging in an act that is eminently dangerous. Those who sell, give away, barter, deliver, exchange, distribute, or administer controlled drugs classified as Schedule 1 or 2 can be found guilty of 3rd degree murder. Minnesota is only one of three states that have a third degree murder statute, although each state defines it differently. Most states consider an unintentional killing to be manslaughter.
Average sentence for 3rd degree murder is 10-15 years with a maximum of 25 years. Those convicted typically serve about two-thirds of their sentence.
The hearing yesterday only lasted a few minutes, as the defense attorney gave the court notice that she had filed a motion to dismiss and requested a contested omnibus hearing - meaning that she is asking for the court to hear the motion to dismiss. That hearing was granted and will occur on January 30th.
The motion to dismiss is puzzling to say the least - from a layman's point of view it seems contradictory. The first portion is a claim that the charges should be dismissed because the drugs were possessed jointly between the victim and the defendant. As such, the claim is that there was no selling or distributing that would be required for 3rd degree murder. However, that statute also lists other things like: giving away, delivering, distributing, etc. The motion cites a case where a husband and wife equally contributed and maintained control of the drugs so it was found that one could not be held responsible for the death of the other.
The next portion of the motion asks for the charges to be dismissed due to a lack of probable cause. The argument that is made here is that Katie used the drugs on her own and "retained independent control over the drugs," and "chose to use them outside of Defendant's presence." This argument seems to contradict the first. If the drugs were independently controlled, then they cannot be jointly controlled...
I'm following this case because Otsego is a quiet community, and no one should have to experience this kind of loss. We do have crime here - no place is immune - but murder is practically unheard of in Otsego. The County Attorney, Mr. Lutes, has taken on this case and has committed to prosecuting it to the fullest extent possible.
(Link to online memorial for Kaitlyn)
Next Week
Veteran's Day - City Offices Closed
Monday is Veteran's Day and City Offices will be closed. This also means that the EDA meeting, City Council meeting, Public Safety Commission meeting, and Heritage Preservation Commission meeting are all shifted by one day next week.
Economic Development Authority (EDA) Meeting
On Tuesday, at 5:30pm at Prairie Center, the EDA will be meeting to continue the fire department project. The EDA will consider adopting a resolution to authorize bids on a bond, as well as scheduling another EDA meeting for December 9th to award the bond.
The bond will be bid for $18,420,000 for a total bond cost of $30,197,704.56 if not refinanced during the life of the bond. Included in the bond are $2MM of equity contribution, although it's not clear where that's coming from.
The bond is structured so that there are only interest payments for the next two years, and the preliminary levy has cemented the fact that the first payment on the bond next year will be made with the proceeds from the bond itself. That cannot be changed, at this point.
City Council Meeting
Following the EDA Meeting, the City Council will meet at 7pm at Prairie Center. The following items are on the main agenda for this meeting:
Consent Agenda:
Approve Claims List.
Approve Prior City Council Meeting Minutes.
Approve City Council Special Compensation for October 2024.
Adopt Resolution 2024-81 Accepting Public Improvements – Harvest Run East 3rd Addition.
Approve Pay Application #27 for the West WWTF Improvements Phase 1 Project.
Approve Pay Application #1 for the Wellhouse 4 Treatment Improvements Project.
Approve Fire Protection Agreement with the City of Albertville.
Approve Closure of City Offices on December 10 for Employee Recognition and Training Events.
Accept Employee Resignation.
Approve Hiring for a Recreation Leader Position.
Adopt Ordinance 2024-11 Amending the City Code – Electric Assist Bicycles & Mobility Devices.
Election Results: Consider Adoption of Resolution 2024-82 Canvass Results of the City Election.
Fire and Emergency Services Station Project: Consider Adoption of Resolution 2024-83 Accepting Bids and Awarding Contracts
Part of this meeting will be a consideration of awarding the contracts for construction of the fire station.
Public Safety Commission Meeting
The Public Safety Commission meeting has been moved to Wednesday at 6:30pm this week due to Veteran's Day shifting schedules. This meeting includes the standing agenda of reviewing the monthly reports received from each of the departments.
Heritage Preservation Commission Meeting
Also on Wednesday, the Heritage Preservation Commission will be meeting. That meeting will take place at City Hall at 7pm. The agenda includes a discussion about a new park sign as well as new ideas and meetings over the winter.