To the Hermantown City Council,
I am writing today with my initial concerns about the proposed hyperscale data center that is proposed in the SW corner of Hermantown.
My involvement with the Hermantown community goes back decades. I was born and raised just a short distance from the proposed site of this development. My wife and I had the opportunity to raise our children next to Grandma and Grandpa on the same beautiful land that I grew up on. To say the least, I am passionate about our community and our neighborhood.
My passion for the community translated into community involvement. 
Between 2010 and 2012 I had an opportunity to Co-Chair the Advance Hermantown initiative. This was a very exciting time for our community. We gathered stakeholders from several different sectors in our community and developed 10 different goals for our community that we called “Drivers”. Many of these goals (Drivers) have been realized, others are still in progress. One of them was titled “Develop a Master Plan for the Midway Road and Highway 2 Commercial District.” This goal sat on the shelf for a few years while other major projects were in the works in our community.
In 2014 I was asked to participate in the “Adolph Neighborhood Small Area Plan”. This plan was considered part of that “Master Plan for the Midway Road and Highway 2 Commercial District.” So, in essence we were working on the drivers from our community engagement that started in 2010. As noted in the final report, “The Adolph Small Area Plan study area is a 3.5 square mile area located in Southwest Hermantown. It is centered on intersection of Highway 2 and Midway Road.” Pages 8 – 10 of this plan highlights the themes that were revealed through the staff analysis and steering committee meetings. I would encourage you to review this section of the report to get a sense of what the steering committee felt at that time.
In the fall of 2016, I decided to run for an open seat on the Hermantown School Board as a write in candidate. I was successful in that campaign and served on the board from 2017 through 2020. During my time on the school board, I had many interactions with the city staff and counselors. Ultimately, the city and the school worked together to create the Essentia Wellness Center that many area residents would now consider a major community asset.
Fast forward to September of 2022, I was asked to participate in the steering committee for the 2024 Comprehensive Plan. As you know we met several times between 2022 and 2024. This process was led by a consulting firm that assisted us in the process of community engagement. I recently had a chance to review the final report and most of it looks familiar and includes what we had discussed in those meetings that spanned nearly two years. However, It did seem a little odd that as a steering committee we were never notified that the report was completed, and it was ready to present to the planning commission and ultimately the city council. As a matter of fact, the last meeting was held on July 11, 2024 and the report was presented to the council in April of 2025. What other meetings took place related to the 2045 Comprehensive Plan between July of 2024 and April of 2025 that did not include community involvement?
I have had a chance to talk with other members of the steering committee who also felt like they were kicked off the committee because they just simply stopped receiving invites to meetings. After receiving a message from Eric Johnson last week, I learned that there were no more meetings after July 11, 2024. The steering committee was left in the dark and never had an opportunity to review the final report. There are several parts of this report that mention an “Urban Services Boundary Future Expansion Area” in the SW corner of Hermantown. On page 50 of the report, it even highlights this area with a dotted red line. None of this was discussed in our steering committee meetings. I can assure you that if this was discussed I would have expressed my concerns since the proposed future Urban Services Boundary borders my own property. On Tuesday (10/14) I had a face to face conversation with Mr. Ronchetti at the Solway town hall. At this meeting Mr. Ronchetti publicly stated that he did modify the 2045 Comprehensive Report after the Steering Committee adjourned and did NOT invite the Steering Committee to review the report prior to introducing it to the Planning and Zoning board.
Based on the actions that have taken place by the City of Hermantown in the past 12 months, it is clear to me that the 2045 Comprehensive Plan was revised after July 11, 2024, to meet the criteria requested by a Fortune 50 company. 
When you review Ordinance 2025-17 that would amend the city zoning map and convert 17 parcels of land totaling over 220 acres from S-1 Suburban to Business and Light Manufacturing, it is also clear that the foundation of the request is based on the City’s 2045 Comprehensive Plan. I can assure you that as a member of the 2045 Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee the idea of expanding the Urban Services Boundary was never discussed.
As a lifelong Hermantown resident and an active community member, I request that you vote NO to Ordinance 2025-17 and deny the request to rezone 220 acres from S-1 Suburban to Business and Light Manufacturing.