Posted: 10/19/04
Ma Cal Developers plat approved, board closes meeting to discuss two civil lawsuits
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Houston County commissioners approved a plat for Ma Cal Developers at their October 12 meeting.
The 28-acre development, which is known as Franks Addition Number 4, is located in Caledonia Township on the north side of Highway 76 going toward Houston.
John Esch, one of the Ma Cal owners, attended the meeting and answered questions about the development.
Each of its 26 lots is a half acre or more, Esch said.
Two community wells will serve the homes. Each lot will have its own septic system. Access to the development will be from Sunset Drive off of Highway 76.
Jerome Frank did three other developments on that 40-acre parcel. He sold the fourth addition to Ma Cal Developers, which is jointly owned by Esch, Donald Gjere of Mabel, and Fred and Gary Kruckow of Caledonia.
The Caledonia Township Board and the Houston County Planning Commission have already approved the plat, so work can now commence. Esch said he was not sure when that would happen. He said they plan to build homes on some of the lots, and to sell some lots without homes.
ìItís been a long process,î fourth district commissioner Dave Corcoran said.
Esch replied that getting the plat approved had been two years in the making
ìI wish you luck,î third district commissioner Ann Thompson added. ìI hope you get enough sold to recoup your loss right away.î
Recycling equipment to be sold
The board also authorized the sale by auction of recycling equipment.
The county will not be processing recyclables after this year, so environmental services director Rick Frank recommended that most of the items be auctioned. Items include two balers, three hoppers, a hooklift truck, a hydraulic lift truck, a rotochopper for making newspaper bedding, and more.
Corcoran and Gulbranson said an auctioneer would bring in more money than just offering it for sale. It can be promoted to specialized customers that way, and would cut down on problems, Corcoran added.
Starting in 2005, all recyclables will be taken by processors to La Crosse.
Jail update
Thompson said the jail study committee is working on a recommendation to bring to the county board. Department heads have been working on their space needs, and will bring it to the committee, which will meet in early November.
Civil lawsuits discussed
The 45-minute meeting ended with the commissioners going into closed session with attorney Rick Jackson and personnel director Tim Comstock.
Jackson said they were discussing information related to two pending civil legal matters that involve Houston County.
One suit was filed by Paulette Pahnke against the county and several other entities.
The other suit was filed by Linda Coffield against the Houston County Sheriffís office.
Here are summaries of the cases from court files in the court administratorís office:
ï Paulette Pahnke and her three children were evicted from her apartment in La Crescent on December 2002. She is suing the owner of the apartment building, the city of La Crescent, the moving company, and Houston County. The county is named in the suit because a Houston County deputy served her with a writ of recovery.
Pahnke is claiming among other things that the writ of recovery allows 24 hours for her to remove her personal property, and that that was not given. She said she was locked out of her apartment, and a moving company, Anderson Moving and Storage, removed her belongings on December 9.
The case was transferred from Houston County Third District Court to U.S. District Court, First Division, on March 24, 2004, as the request of the City of La Crescent because the charges fall under federal statute. Dyan Ebert of Quinlivan and Hughes, St. Cloud, is representing the county.
ï In the other case, Linda Coffield is claiming sex discrimination and retaliation against the sheriffís department and Houston County.
Coffield resigned on December 31, 2003, after 14 years on the department. Her lawsuit contains 10 instances of alleged sexual discrimination, and four instances of alleged retaliation.
Coffield is asking for back pay, front pay (compensation for lost future wages), lost benefits, a jury trial, punitive damages, and attorney fees.
The two lawyers in the case, Dyan Ebert for Houston County and Andrea Gesellchen for Coffield, are trying to set up a mediation session for December to resolve the case.
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