5 stories to look for in 2018

Shakopee Valley News

Plenty happened in 2017, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a less eventful 2018.

And Shakopee will have no shortage of stories in the upcoming year. Here are five topics to look for as 2018 progresses.

1. Downtown development

A large amount of effort and funding was spent in 2017 to revitalize the downtown area and that’s likely to continue. New businesses, like the Shakopee Brew Hall and North Aire Market, are moving to the burgeoning space. The city of Shakopee itself is trying to spur this growth and interest in downtown. Things like the facade loans to maintain a historical look or the new Chief Sakpe statue are examples of that. In addition, a new space has opened up after the demolition of the former city hall. The city is accepting proposals for that site and another city-owned riverfront property to develop, with those decisions coming forward in 2018. On top of this, the success of festivals like Rhythm on the Rails and Holiday Fest are likely to continue and keep bringing residents downtown.

2. “Envision Shakopee”

“Envision Shakopee” is the moniker for the 2040 Comprehensive Plan, which can be quite the mouthful. The comprehensive plan is a guiding document for the city, identifying large projects and goals for the next 20 or so years. City planners started the work in 2017. Staff has asked for input, held workshops, asked residents to hold their own discussions on the plan and more. The work isn’t going to slow down in 2018 because by the end of the year, the document must be submitted to the Metropolitan Council for approval.

3. Elections

This year will be a big election year not only for Minnesota, but Shakopee as well. Appearing on the Minnesota ballots will be votes for U.S. senator, U.S. representative, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, attorney general and state representative. On top of that, the mayor’s seat and two city council seats will be open. Mayor Bill Mars said he plans to run for re-election. The seats for Councilors Mike Luce and Kathi Mocol also expire at the end of the year. Luce said that the election has been on his mind but that it’s too early to decide if he’ll run again. On the school board side, a whopping four seats are open — those of Scott Swanson, Shawn Hallett, Mary Romansky and Tony Pass. Romansky said she will not run, while the others said they are undecided.

4. Right-sizing

On the school district side, members of the board and school staff will continue to work to recover from a $4.5 million budget shortfall that was revealed in March 2017. The school’s fund balance — basically its savings account — ended the last fiscal year at less than $700,000, down from $2.5 million in 2016. Cost-saving measures include closing Pearson Sixth Grade Center. On the city side, members of staff and the council are trying to make the budgeting process as transparent as possible. Mars said this effort will continue in 2018 with the new budget.

5. New projects

Construction should be added to the list with death and taxes and 2018 will see an abundance of it. There will be an extension of Vierling Drive to Highway 169 and a project to expand drive lanes on Highway 169 North. The expanded Shakopee High School will open in fall 2018 and the Academies of Shakopee, a new learning model, will be implemented at Shakopee High School.