Commissioner candidates find common ground

Agreement was once again the name of the game at the candidate forum – this time among the candidates for Steele County commissioner.

Two of the three open seats have contested races, though just one of the challengers participated in Monday’s panel.

Josh Prokopec is facing off against incumbent Rick Gnemi for the District 3 spot; Scott Prestegard is challenging District 5 incumbent Greg Krueger, but was not present.

Jim Abbe is unopposed for the District 4 seat.

“I think it’s time for a change, and I think change is a positive thing,” Prokopec said in his opening statements. “Differing opinions in these boards are a good thing; it generates a fresh perspective, which I plan to provide.”

Krueger said he understands what it takes to get things done “and live within a budget,” citing his 35 years of business ownership; he is running again “because I had so many people contact me and say, ‘you’ve got to do it one more time,’” he said.

“I promised when I ran the first time that I wanted to set Steele County up for a progressive future of prosperity and financial stability,” he said. “By setting up a capital campaign fund, we could do future major projects and repairs without any major bonding – if any at all. That could be accomplished without any major increases to our levy.”

The agreement was most visible among the incumbents, especially on the topic of the county budget and matters that have already come before the board.

Both Gnemi and Krueger said one of their top goals for Steele County would be to complete the two major projects now underway: Moving the sheriff’s office into the detention center, and moving the community corrections department into a building behind the courthouse.

“By the way, both of those are being done without any levy dollars,” Krueger  said. “The community corrections office will save the county between $75,000 and $80,000 annually,” by getting rid of lease payments.

“Steele County has been able to keep our budget low,” Gnemi added, allowing for the new high school and the improvements downtown while still keeping taxes in check.

Prokopec’s focus is on affordable housing.

“In my opinion, $1,100 a month is not affordable housing,” he said, before suggesting more partnerships with local non-profits to accomplish goals.

“They’re doing all the legwork for us,” Prokopec said, “and I think it would be great for us to piggyback on those ideas, and give them some of that funding they need.”

The candidates all agreed that the East Side Corridor – a proposed north-south route on the east side of Owatonna designed to alleviate traffic congestion through town – is a difficult issue.

“The main issue is transparency,” said Prokopec, adding that his 17 years as an engineering technician for the city would help his ability to work with affected residents and county staff.

“It’s a tough project,” he said, “but there can be a happy medium in there, for sure.”

Most studies say the officially mapped route – which will cut through farmland and run adjacent to residential areas – “is the most logical and cost-effective way to do this,” Gnemi said. “I know people are frustrated about this, but it needs to be done.”

Krueger said he hopes for “a constructive dialogue with all citizens about possible mitigation ideas and possible compromise options.”

When asked about supporting the growth of economic development in Steele County, there was more consensus, including making sure all cities in the county feel supported.

Prokopec and Krueger both spoke of Owatonna Partners for Economic Development as a good resource; affordable housing was also cited several times, in addition to continuing to improve the local quality of life.

A question about homelessness concerns – “solving it, not just admitting it exists” – brought out some common threads of working with non-profits.

Gnemi spoke of the work being done by the Steele-Waseca Drug Court and Workforce Development; Krueger recognized the plan for Oak Hill Community Connections, which will provide resources for housing, mental and physical health care, employment services and more, all under one roof.

He also spoke of the work being done through Transitional Housing of Steele County, “but it needs more spaces. People are looking for a hand up, not a handout,” Krueger said.

Answering what Abbe called “a loaded question,” the candidates seemed to share a similar opinion of the county’s relationship with MnPrairie County Alliance, a human services collaboration in the communities of Dodge, Steele and Waseca counties.

There is a benefit of shared costs, Gnemi said, but the “jury is still out” about how it may affect taxpayers, Abbe said.

Prokopec said the alliance’s priorities need to be determined, while Krueger tempered his positive outlook by saying he’d like to see a more appropriate way of using the $5.7 million annual budget.