| 1/14/2009 3:29:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Maplewood secession group goes public
Derrick Knutson
Review staff
It started with a man and his garage, and escalated to involve plans of secession from the city of Maplewood.
The group looking to secede from Maplewood and form their own, separate city is looking to go public with their efforts, said their leader, Maplewood resident John Wykoff, in an interview with the Review.
Wykoff said that he has been angry with city decisions for a while, particularly a recommendation to deny him a permit to build an oversize garage on his residential property. He said that he wanted to build the garage to house his RV.
Wykoff said that he and other Maplewood residents are incensed with city property taxes, crime rates and the amount of control the city has over its residents.
"There are so many people that are really, really pissed off," he said. "Nobody in Maplewood owns their own property."
The secession group represents people from all over the city, he said. "We have well over 1,000 people (in the group)," he said. "604 are from north Maplewood and 411 are from south Maplewood."
Council member John Nephew offered his understanding of the garage permit situation between the city and Wykoff.
"He had an application in for a conditional use permit for this garage ... it was larger than the amount that was allowed," he said. "He took it to the planning commission and they thought it didn't fit with the area."
DuWanye Konewko, the director of the Maplewood community development and parks department, said that Wykoff brought forward his application in March 2006, it went before the planning commission on April 17 of that year and that is when the commission recommended that the permit be denied. Konewoko said Wykoff withdrew his application on April 19, 2006, and was refunded the $676 it cost at that time for a conditional use permit.
Nephew said the City Council never voted on the permit. He agreed with Konewko's assertion that Wykoff withdrew the application after the planning commission advised against having the garage built on the property.
"I've met with him and he was kind enough to show me his property," Nephew said. "I've encouraged him to resubmit his application. I think he had a very frustrating experience with the city, and I'd empathize with that. I'd hope he'd come back and work with the city."
Name already chosen
If the new city were to become a reality, Wykoff said the founders would like to have 3M incorporated into it. Reflecting the bold step of forming a new town and hoping to embrace 3M's approaches, the group has chosen the name "Innovation" for the projected city.
Jackie Berry, a spokeswoman for 3M, said that the company has "no interest" in joining "Innovation," if it were to become a reality.
Wykoff added that the group would also be making a push to have the city incorporated into Washington County.
In an e-mail to the Review, Wykoff went into more detail about why he says more than 1,000 people are ready to secede from the city. In his introduction, Wykoff refers to Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities." He compares the brutal oppression detailed in Dickens' novel to the "general feelings borne by may citizens of the incorporated city currently known as Maplewood, Minn."
He goes on to say that Maplewood was "haphazardly put together back in 1957," and "now the time has come for the people of this city to make an informed choice to correct the geographical and political follies created a half-century ago."
Wykoff said that the borders of "Innovation" would be "everything south of Larpenteur Avenue, everything west of Century Avenue, everything east of McKnight Road, past Carver Avenue; all the way down to the end of Maplewood."
He said that the name "Innovation" would pay homage to 3M, but he is still unsure if he could use the name because of copyright laws. 3M uses the slogan, "Innovative and Practical Solutions" to describe its products.
"The 3M Company, the largest taxpayer... would hopefully forever be headquartered in the 'Heart of Innovation,'" he wrote in the e-mail.
Consulting the city
Wykoff said that he had talked to Maplewood Interim City Manager Chuck Ahl about the group and reported that Ahl is "worried."
"I have been made aware of the group," Ahl said when asked if he was concerned about the group and its intentions.
Even if the currently theoretical city were formed, Maplewood would not be willing to give up 3M, Ahl said.
"They pay between 12 and 15 percent of our property taxes, so we'd certainly oppose that," Ahl said.
He added that the secessionists should look into the financial aspects of running a city before they decide to go forward with the process.
"It's very expensive to run a city," he said. "I think they need to investigate how much it costs."
This year, the Maplewood City Council approved an operating budget for the city of $15,876,235.
Nephew echoed Ahl's sentiments about the cost of running a city, and he added that the group should be wary about relying too much on 3M's property taxes even if the company reverses its stance and joins "Innovation."
"If I was in their shoes, I'd be pretty concerned about putting so many eggs in one basket," he said.
Nephew said that having a high amount of revenue coming from one business' property taxes wouldn't be financially responsible.
For instance, if 3M were to relocate its Maplewood enterprises, "everybody else pays the price, and I think we're seeing that on the national stage with all of the problems with the financial industry," he said.
Looking for a lawyer
The secession group has yet to retain legal counsel to advise it on its next moves.
"We don't have a lawyer yet, but we've talked to some and there are two or three who are interested," Wykoff said.
Wykoff would not say which lawyers he had consulted, but he said that he had been in contact with one lawyer in Washington County.
The group is still interested in recruiting more members. Wykoff said that he would be circulating a petition around Maplewood starting this month. Wykoff added the petition is part of his New Year's resolution to "help the citizens of the new city coming to your neighborhood soon - 'Innovation.'"
Derrick Knutson can be reached at dknutson@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7825.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Article comment by:
Linda
Will Rossbach is the most self serving, lazy city representative I've ever seen in action. Rossbach could do the residents of Maplewood a huge favor by not running for re-election. Rossbach has proven over and over again that the city of Maplewood and it's residents are secondary to his personal agenda. P.S. The sixties called, they want their ponytail back!!!
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