Rochester City Council Upholds One of Two Vetoes Issued by Mayor Kim Norton

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- The Rochester City Council addressed a pair of vetoes recently issued by Mayor Kim Norton. 

Read More: Rochester City Council May Override Two Mayor Norton Vetoes

One of the vetoes involved a decision accepting a feasibility study that includes a recommendation on the preferred trail route for the planned Willow Creek Regional Recreation Trail in southeast Rochester.

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The other stemmed from using $350,000 of City Council Contingency funding to relocate a commercial wood waste processing facility in northwest Rochester to accommodate a planned residential development. 

Rochester City Council Votes to Override One of Two Vetoes Issued by Mayor Kim Norton

The council failed to reach the five-vote threshold to overturn the veto of its decision to accept the planned trail route. 

Councilmembers Miller, Patrick Keane and Council President Randy Schubring voted to override the veto. Councilmembers Norman Wahl, Shaun Palmer, Andy Friederichs and Dan Doering voted to uphold the veto.

See Also: Rochester City Council Approve 7-Story Add-on to Historic Downtown Buildings

Ahead of voting to support the Mayor’s veto, Councilmember Dan Doering pointed out the proposed trail would divide a private property down the middle and that moving it to the outskirts of the property, even if it comes with a higher cost and delay, would be the right thing to do. 

Councilmember Nick Miller voted to override the Mayor’s veto, saying the trail provides access to transportation and economic growth to residents in the growing area of southeast Rochester. 

Earlier the month, the Council voted 4-0 to adopt the feasibility study that cleared the way for awarding the nearly $420,000 contract to develop the final design for the project. 

Veto of Wood Waste Processing Facility Removal Overridden

The City Council did reach the needed five-vote threshold to overturn the Mayor’s veto of using the contingency funding for removing the wood waste processing facility. 

Mayor Norton and Council Members Doering and Miller argued the removal should be included in the city’s budgeting process and that having to remove the facility was not an unexpected expense. 

City staff argued the expense was unexpected because the city anticipated a partnership with Olmsted County in removing the facility, but the partnership did not come to fruition.