Referendum for library passes
Few changes in local city
elections for mayor, council

By Dawn Slade
Posted 11/13/02

Milaca

There were 212 new registered voters in the City of Milaca on Tuesday, Nov. 5, with a total of 1,184 residents voting.

The candidates for Milaca City Council had no opposition at last weekís election, therefore incumbents Norris Johnson and Pete Pedersen will continue to be on the council.

Johnson received 699 votes, while Pedersen received 739. Each will be on the council for another four-year term.

Randy Furman will remain Milaca mayor as he, too, was unopposed. His term is for two years. Furman received 964 votes.

"These are important and historical times for the city and I look forward to being a part of that," Furman said of his role as mayor.

Next step for library

Residents of Milaca were the only ones to vote on a referendum for a new library in Milaca with 741 voting for the referendum and 416 voting against it.

Because the City of Milaca will own the building, those residents were the first to cast a vote for the future library.

The City of Milacaís referendum will account for one-third of the $1,400,000 to build the new 8,500 square foot facility.

Another third will be paid for by surrounding communities and townships, if they agree to include referendums in their March elections.

The remaining third will be contributed by private foundation grants, private donations, and the Friends of the Milaca Library fund-raising efforts.

The library, which will be added to the new city hall, will be located on First Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues - behind the fire hall.

Furman said of the referendum results, "I was a little surprised that it was that margin. I thought it could go either way. You never know when you put on something that will increase taxes."

Milaca Friends of the Library President Shelley Larson said, "Itís wonderful. The residents of the city have been expressing support of the library for a long time and Iím glad they took this opportunity to pass the referendum.

"We hope all the residents will step forward and help with private fund-raising and encourage the other township residents to support this."

According to Milaca City Manager Greg Lerud, the city received a copy of a joint powers agreement from East Central Library Director Bob Boese, which was used when Princeton was building its library.

The Milaca City Council will review the joint powers agreement and make a decision in December as to how it will share the debt service cost with the surrounding communities and townships.

But, Lerud said it is up to those cities and townships to decide how they will obtain the money, such as a bond or levy.

Bock, Foreston and Pease

The City of Bock also had only one person running for mayor. Margaret Girard took the post with 23 votes.

Two city council seats were also available for Bock and the two candidates who ran will be filling those vacancies. Chuck Carlson received 14 votes while Ed Johnson received 18.

Foreston had two candidates running for mayor. Lonnie Strandlund will be the cityís next mayor, taking 60 percent of the votes (98), while Neil Ziegler ended up with 65 votes.

Two seats were open for Foreston City Council. John Haugen received 92 votes and Doug Carpenter received 65 votes. The other candidates who were not elected include Tracie Gave, who received 58 votes, and Cheryl Stevens, who received 56 votes.

Pease also had two candidates for mayor. Merlin Koppendrayer edged out Steve OíNeil by five votes. Koppendrayer received 31, while OíNeil received 26.

Three candidates were running for Pease City Council, but in the end Diane Kiel, who received 44 votes, and Corey Wills, who received 32 votes, were the winners. Laurie Hoffman was the third candidate. She received 21 votes.