St. Francis council member gets third censure

Admonishing LeRoy Schaffer for a loud confrontation, the council also instructed him not to have contact with city staff.

By MARIA ELENA BACA, Star Tribune

Last update: November 4, 2009


Embattled St. Francis City Council Member LeRoy Schaffer was censured for a third time by his colleagues at this week's council meeting, the result of a verbal confrontation with the city's public works director last summer.

The censure resolution that was passed unanimously by the four other council members also bars Schaffer from all personal contact with city staff. Even written communication with the city administrator must be delivered by a third party, Council Member Jeff Sandoval.

Such an extreme form of political shunning is rare, said Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute, who added, however, that he is not an expert on St. Francis city politics.

"Conflict and tensions are ubiquitous; they're widespread, in government policymaking," Jacobs said. "But when it reaches this level, an official policymaking group taking this step to isolate one member, it's extraordinary. This is kind of a DEFCON 5. ... This is the kind of response you take when you have no other choice."

Monday's censure stemmed from a July 20 incident. According to the results of an investigation presented Monday by City Attorney Scott Lepak, Schaffer loudly confronted the city's Public Works Director Paul Teicher after a council meeting that addressed the resignation of a public works employee.

During the investigation, Schaffer also approached Teicher to inquire about the complaint, the report said.

Schaffer refused to cooperate with the investigation.

St. Francis Mayor Jerry Tveit said that while the censure was a direct result of the confrontation with Teicher, the no-contact clause stemmed from a pattern of erratic and demanding behavior at City Hall that had created a chilling effect on the staff.

"The staff at City Hall and other employees will feel more at ease and more comfortable dealing with the council and not having to worry about getting questioned about things on the job," Tveit said Tuesday. "I want them to worry about their job and not what council members will say to them when they're trying to do their job."

For his part, Schaffer said Monday that the vote was a "popularity contest," and that he had a right to disagree with Teicher's handling of the public works employee's resignation.

"I'm not supposed to be a human being," he said. "I'm not supposed to have emotions."
Schaffer, who was the top vote-getter in a 2006 citywide election and whose term runs through 2010, has been in the hot seat before over conduct issues.

In May he was censured after the city attorney found that he had publicly humiliated the 19-year-old daughter of City Council adversary Tim Brown. In June 2008 residents called on Schaffer to resign after he called 911 to ask police to check the immigration status of a crew of Spanish-speaking roofers. In December 2007 he was censured for making what the council called inappropriate sexual remarks to a young woman during a community event. Last December he survived a recall vote that sought to cut short his four-year term.

After Schaffer's first censure, the council drafted a pledge of personal conduct for city officials; Schaffer abstained from voting when the code was adopted in January 2008.

Maria Elena Baca • 612-673-4409

Eden Prairie City Council to delay new road

Eden Prairie's Riverview Road gets a reprieve from a city-style reconstruction after neighborhood residents appeal to the city.

By LAURIE BLAKE, Star Tribune
Last update: May 27, 2009 - 1:39 PM

Eden Prairie's Riverview Road will get a coating of new black top this year but not a modern upgrading with curb, gutter and sidewalk.

The Eden Prairie City Council voted 3 to 2 last week to postpone the more extensive reconstruction until the area fully develops and the city has had time to stop bluff-line erosion caused by rain running off the street.

The segment, between Homeward Hills Road and Parker Drive in southern Eden Prairie, carries 2,500 to 3,000 cars a day at the crest of a bluff near the Minnesota River. The city's Public Works Department recommended bringing it up to modern standards to improve driver and pedestrian safety.

But residents along the stretch argued that Eden Prairie has turned all but 10 miles of its original rural roads into curb-and-gutter, urban-style streets and that Riverview should be saved as a picturesque, curving country half-mile.

After a public hearing last week, Council Members Cathy Nelson, Ron Case and Jon Duckstad voted to delay the street's reconstruction indefinitely and instead repave the section of street this year.

Nelson said future development would likely tear up the road if it were reconstructed now, so it makes sense to wait. In the meantime, she suggested enjoying the pretty road. "It would be nice if somebody would sprinkle some wildflower seeds along it," she said.

While Case favored putting off the reconstruction, he said the erosion problems along the bluff area should be addressed immediately. Duckstad favored the blacktopping alternative as a way to save money.

Mayor Phil Young voted against delaying the reconstruction, saying it felt like passing the buck to a future council. "What I haven't heard yet tonight is how the problem with this road gets better if we push it off to another council to make the decision.''

Council Member Brad Aho also opposed the temporary fix, saying that resurfacing it now and reconstructing it later would cost more than a single improvement. "I think we would be better served to do it right the first time.''

Aho also predicted that speeds on the road will increase once it's resurfaced, creating a hazard for pedestrians because that section of road has no sidewalk.

Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711

Forest Lake to impose tax, fund bus link to Minneapolis

By KEVIN GILES, Star Tribune
Last update: May 14, 2009 - 1:59 PM

In a reversal of an earlier decision, the Forest Lake City Council has voted to join the metropolitan transit taxing district.

The 3-2 vote Monday night means that Forest Lake will raise $274,000 to help pay for a weekday commuter bus service to Minneapolis. Forest Lake will assess residents in 2010 at a cost of about $25 for a house valued at $200,000, said Mayor Stev Stegner.

He said that while he's committed to mass transit, he voted against the decision. "I just thought there were too many expenses for the citizens of Forest Lake without any guarantees on our return," he said.

Council Member Jackie McNamara also voted no. Susan Young, Bo Bogotty and Jim DuFour voted in favor.

In March, the council voted 4-1 against the tax district decision, with only Young supporting it.

Route 288, a popular commuter bus route from Forest Lake to Minneapolis, began in 2008 after the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. Its survival after this year depended in part on Forest Lake joining the transit taxing district, which the Metropolitan Council oversees.

Last year, Washington County voted to spend $1 million it received from the new transit sales tax -- a different tax than the one that Forest Lake council members voted down -- to keep the five daily buses running through this year.