Residents pressure county board
A large contingency of residents representing the neighborhood where the proposed East Side Corridor would be located make its voices heard at last week’s Steele County Board meeting in Owatonna. They tried unsuccessfully to turn over a petition with more than 500 names. Submitted photo
Armed with a petition bearing more than 500 names, a group battling the Owatonna East Side Corridor is trying to make a statement. To the group’s disgust, it doesn’t seem to be working.
About 40 people showed up on Jan. 28 at a standing room only Steele County Board meeting to make their voices heard about their opposition to the proposed plan for 29th Avenue to serve as the East Side Corridor. The residents want it moved further to the east along 34th Avenue.
Steele County and Owatonna leaders are looking to put a highway known as the East Side Corridor with speeds up to 55 mph in an already established neighborhood. The corridor group claims such a highway is poor planning and not safe for the neighborhoods.
Over the past year and a half, the group has collected 465 signatures online plus another 100 with handwritten petitions, according to Matthew Sennott, who is leading the effort to oppose the corridor as it is currently planned.
Contrary to what some people may think, the support for the corridor group hasn’t waned or gone away. “They don’t think we have the support we once had,” Sennott said of county officials. He explained that by design not everyone from their group shows up at every meeting concerning the proposed roadway.
The group pulled out all stops by showcasing its support at last week’s board meeting. Asked if he felt their presence made a difference, Sennott responded: “One hundred percent. That room was packed. It definitely was a statement.”
About a half dozen members of the group took turns speaking during the public forum of the board meeting. All expressed their support of the petition, which is still hanging in limbo.
“We would like to formally submit the petition on the record, but they keep giving us the runaround. We’ve gotten the complete runaround from the county,” Sennott said. “They are aware of the petition, but they are refusing to acknowledge it publicly. It’s extremely frustrating that they have been unwilling to come to the table to discuss compromises,” he added.
Sennott said the group will now pursue action through the state to find options of what can be done with the petition.
Adding to their frustration Sennott’s group has also learned the City of Owatonna is more involved in the corridor project than it initially let on. The group is in the process of reviewing Freedom of Information requests from both government entities regarding this project. They have already received 1,200 documents, and he estimates at least another 1,100 will still be coming.
While he didn’t go into detail on what’s being found, he said people will be surprised. “It's the clearest case of city and county governments bullying and opposing the very citizens that elected them into power that I’ve ever seen,” Sennott said. “Shameful.”
He added, “It’s sad that we have to go to this length to get the information that affects our families.”
Sennott said they plan to also show up at a city council meeting in the near future.