LTE – Herb Sakalaucks Jr. – 7-4-2018

The Village officials’ words and actions at the full board meeting on June 25th confirm that the Village of Colfax is firmly committed to doing nothing to improve tourism and bring new business and jobs to town. The Village Board ignored the study they commissioned (The Power of Ten) that the Museum tried to follow in its proposal.

The Museum is the only party in over 100 years that expressed any interest in using this parcel. No one else responded to the Village’s request for proposed use of the parcel.

As a result of the meeting, the Village is simply going to keep spending money to maintain a vacant lot. At the board meeting, the Dunn County Economic Development coordinator recommended the sale to the Museum as the best use of the lot and that the price offered was more than reasonable.

The Board has no plan for Soo Park. They simply hope that someone will buy the parcel that needs more than $20,000 of utilities and street construction before it can be used. The problem for nearby property owners is that the only use that might bear that cost is industrial, which would place it right next to existing residential properties. The Museum’s intended use would have maintained the current park setting while adding a 7.5” track for a miniature train ride.

The Board decided to ignore the potential economic benefits to businesses in the Village that the added 2000 visitors would have brought. Projected sales to tourists would have totaled over $30,000 per year. They also eliminated the proposed heritage festival that would have brought an additional 4000 visitors a year, with a projected economic impact of over $80,000 a year.

As far as Mr. Hovre’s comments at the Planning Committee’s meeting held the previously, his personal animus for the Museum was evident in his unprofessional comments and his continued presence on the planning committee is a serious drawback to any company seeking to do business in Colfax. The Village’s history in losing potential new businesses bears this out.

The Museum appreciates all the support local residents have shown and will try to continue to improve its displays and bring visitors to Colfax. We sincerely regret that we will not be able to implement the goals outlined in the Power of Ten study that Colfax had commissioned and now has cast aside.

Herb Sakalaucks Jr.
Curator- Colfax Railroad Museum